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CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S LATEST blockbuster The Odyssey took in almost €1 million at the Irish box office in its opening weekend, with cinema operators reporting exceptional demand for IMAX and 70mm screenings.
The film grossed €954,000 in the Republic of Ireland from Friday to Sunday, according to figures from the Irish Film and Television Network, making Ireland the strongest-performing country in the world on a per-capita basis.
It also earned a further €69,000 in Northern Ireland over the opening weekend.
Worldwide, The Odyssey took $264 million (€227 million) in its opening weekend, marking Nolan’s biggest-ever box office debut and surpassing the opening of his Oscar-winning 2023 film Oppenheimer.
Cinema chain Cineworld said the film had “enjoyed a phenomenal opening weekend, significantly exceeding our expectations”.
“A key driver of this success has been the film’s exceptional performance in IMAX,” a spokesperson told The Journal.
“In fact, IMAX accounted for a greater proportion of our market share this weekend than our standard screens, which is unprecedented.”
The company said audiences had also flocked to 4DX and Superscreen screenings as moviegoers sought out premium formats for the release.
The film is the first feature ever shot entirely using IMAX cameras, and Cineworld’s Parnell Street cinema in Dublin is home to one of only a handful of IMAX screens on the island of Ireland.
The Irish Film Institute, which is screening the film exclusively in 70mm, said demand had been comparable to Christopher Nolan’s previous films, which it also showed in the format.
“We’ve had a very strong weekend with The Odyssey with attendances comparable to what we would have seen with Oppenheimer,” an IFI spokesperson said.
“Christopher Nolan has a lot of very passionate and engaged fans and we had bookings come in from when the tickets went on sale a month out on 15 June, particularly for the first weekend and the first screening on Friday.”
“We’re only showing the film on 70mm, so that has been 100% of our sales so far.”
The strong demand is showing little sign of slowing.
As of this afternoon, Cineworld Dublin’s 7.30pm IMAX screening this evening has just 15 of its 258 seats still available, eight of which were accessible or companion seats.
At the IFI, the 7.50pm 70mm screening had just four seats left from a capacity of 237, with only one of those outside the front row.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Cineworld’s Friday evening IMAX screening had already sold out, while the IFI’s Friday evening 70mm screening had just nine tickets remaining, all in the front row.
Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron, The Odyssey is an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic following Odysseus’ 10-year journey home after the Trojan War.
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