Odyssey fans baffled by resale movie tickets going for $400 a year before film's highly anticipated release

Yahoo

12 hours ago

IMAX tickets for Christopher Nolan's next epic, The Odyssey, are already being resold for upwards of $500, after selling out within hours of their release.
Advanced tickets for the Oscar-winning director's forthcoming movie, starring Matt Damon, Zendaya, and Tom Holland, went on sale at midnight Thursday — an entire year before its July 17, 2026, debut.
Premiere screenings are taking place across the globe next year — in select U.S. and Canadian cities, as well as London, Melbourne, and Prague — at theaters equipped with IMAX 70mm screens. Some lucky fans on Reddit managed to snag single tickets for around $32, plus fees.
However, by Thursday afternoon, scalpers were already listing them on sites like eBay for much more.
'The Odyssey 70mm IMAX tickers are already going for $500 buy now on eBay I hope you're proud of yourselves IMAX rollout team,' one irritated fan wrote on X.
Matt Damon leads 'The Odyssey' as the Greek hero Odysseus (Universal)
A quick search of eBay did, in fact, reveal a listing for two reserved seats to a July 19, 2026 showing. The seller has the two tickets listed for $399.
'The Odyssey tickets have already hit eBay. Good grief!' a second noted, while a third found it 'insane that [tickets] are already being sold for double what it is retail price.'
A fan has already posted two tickets to a July 2026 viewing of 'The Odyssey' on eBay for $399 (eBay)
'Someone is trying to resell 2x BFI IMAX 70mm tickets for The Odyssey for £94 Great British Pounds! These tickets are for second row seats right against the wall… THE AUDACITY,' a fourth added.
'That resale pic of Odyssey tickets can't be real. Who the hell is reselling movie tickets lmfaoooo,' another laughed.
The Odyssey 70mm IMAX tickers are already going for $500 buy now on eBay I hope you're proud of yourselves IMAX rollout team pic.twitter.com/dd8whZyrXp
— Marco Andre (@mrmarcoandre) July 17, 2025
The Independent has contacted IMAX for comment.
The decision to sell tickets this early seems to be strategic, despite being unprecedented. After the success of Nolan's previous Oscar-winning feature Oppenheimer, which grossed $975.8 million globally and made over $190 million of its revenue from IMAX screenings alone, it can be assumed that studios and theaters would prefer to lean further into that demand.
Earlier this year, it was reported that The Odyssey is being shot entirely on IMAX cameras, the first commercial feature film to do so. The new IMAX cameras, which are reportedly lighter and 30 percent quieter, eliminate the usual problems that come with traditional film and digital cameras, like scanning and processing of the film stock. They also allow the director to easily watch dailies while filming.
The Odyssey, which is still filming, is an adaptation of Homer's epic Greek poem. The story follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), king of Ithaca, as he journeys home after the Trojan War. However, his expedition proves perilous as he has to battle numerous threats and mythological creatures.
Holland has been cast as Odysseus's son Telemachus, while Charlize Theron has been cast as the goddess Circe. Zendaya's role has yet to be announced, and the characters played by Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Anne Hathaway also remain unknown.
Other recent casting announcements include Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Benny Safdie, and Elliot Page.
The Odyssey will be released in theaters on July 17, 2026.