‘The Odyssey’ Just Broke The BFI IMAX Queue All Over Again With A New Wave Of 70mm Tickets

Christopher Nolan’s latest epic has already proven it doesn’t need much of an excuse to send fans into a frenzy, and this week gave them one more reason to set alarms and refresh browser tabs. Even as a certain webslinger dominates multiplexes across the country, ‘The Odyssey‘ is still commanding its own corner of the internet’s attention.

That’s largely thanks to one specific venue that has become ground zero for the film’s cult-like theatrical demand. London’s BFI IMAX has spent the past several weeks turning ticket releases into recurring events, complete with sold-out runs and desperate online queues.

The latest chapter of that saga played out on July 31, when a fresh batch of 70mm IMAX screenings went up for sale and immediately triggered a queue of more than 21,000 people trying to buy tickets. Estimated wait times on the booking site stretched past an hour, with fans watching their position in line tick down at a painfully slow pace while trying to lock in a seat.

It’s a scene that has become almost routine at this point. The BFI IMAX has already sold out all 173 of its 70mm IMAX screenings scheduled throughout August and into September, and each newly announced batch of showtimes has vanished within hours of going live.

The venue confirmed the latest expansion directly. On July 30, the BFI IMAX announced it had added seven extra screenings of ‘The Odyssey’ in 70mm IMAX, with the new tickets going live for booking the following afternoon, which explains the queue spike fans experienced.

This isn’t the first time the site has buckled under demand, either. Just weeks earlier, more than 25,000 people were queuing to get a ticket minutes after a previous sale went live, a surge significant enough to leave the booking platform struggling under the traffic.

Fans desperate for a seat haven’t been shy about airing their frustration online. One person reportedly summed up the chaos by noting they had 15,733 people ahead of them in the queue for additional screenings released at the BFI IMAX, a sentiment echoed across social media as the digital waiting room filled up again and again.

Part of what makes the BFI IMAX such a magnet is its rarity. Only a small number of venues worldwide are capable of projecting the film’s full 70mm IMAX format, and some fans have reportedly traveled from as far as Singapore, Los Angeles and Toronto just to experience it the way Nolan intended.

That scarcity has also fueled a resale market well outside official pricing. Tickets to the format have shown up on secondhand sites for well over £500, a testament to just how far some fans are willing to go to avoid missing out entirely.

Nolan himself has spoken about his personal connection to the venue, telling audiences at the film’s premiere there that he met his friend and IMAX mentor, the late David Keighley, at the BFI IMAX during a screening two decades ago, a detail that adds some sentimental weight to why the London venue in particular has become such a flashpoint for fan demand.

With more screenings expected to be announced in the weeks ahead, the queue chaos shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. For now, fans hoping to catch ‘The Odyssey’ the way it was meant to be seen will just have to keep refreshing and hoping their spot in line comes up before the seats do.

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