Imax 70mm: The Most Exclusive Club in Cinema Right Now
What happened
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is the first feature ever shot entirely on Imax film with Imax cameras — but only 41 theaters worldwide (25 in the US) can actually project it in true 15/70mm Imax. Most are sold out for weeks, turning a movie release into a full-blown scarcity event.
Why this matters
'Imax' has quietly become a marketing umbrella covering everything from real 70mm giant-screen film to cropped digital projections on regular multiplex screens. This story exposes just how thin that branding has stretched — and how far studios will go to chase a premium-format halo effect.
The slightly cynical read
Nolan and Imax get to have it both ways: sell 'authentic' scarcity to cinephiles while still slapping the Imax logo on thousands of screens that offer a meaningfully lesser experience. Scarcity marketing dressed up as artistic purism is still scarcity marketing.
What to watch next
Expect more directors (and studios) to lean into 70mm exclusivity as a flex post-Oppenheimer, while Imax faces growing pressure to actually standardize what its name promises across formats.