U.S. Cinema Website Crash As Tickets For ‘The Odyssey’ Go On Sale

InnovationConsumer TechU.S. Cinema Website Crash As Tickets For ‘The Odyssey’ Go On SaleByBenny Har-Even,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about commercial cinema technology and smart-home tech.Follow AuthorJun 05, 2026, 11:02am EDTJun 05, 2026, 11:04am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.The hype is real, with the website struggling under demand for tickets for ‘The Odyssey’ in premium formatsIMAX CorporationIf there was ever any doubt that the release of a Christopher Nolan movie is a significant cultural event, then doubt no more. As the long-awaited tickets for his upcoming movie, The Odyssey, went on sale, the rush for opening week tickets led to cinema websites slowing to a crawl. “What a disaster. Websites just don't work!” was one typical complaint on social media. AMC even introduced a queuing system to prevent its website from falling over. When this reporter tried to access the site, I was given an estimated time of one hour, and soon after, the queuing system was paused entirely. Nolan’s Preferred FormatMuch of the hype stems from the demand to see the movie in premium theaters, particularly those capable of showing it in the full IMAX 1.43 aspect ratio. This is because The Odyssey is the first movie ever released to be captured entirely on IMAX 15/70 film, the format which director Christopher Nolan refers to as the “gold standard” for image quality. However, there are only 39 locations around the world that can show the film in this format, though this marks an increase over the 30 that were able to present Oppenheimer in 15-perf IMAX 70mm.This includes seven new locations in the U.S, three in Canada and one in Belgium, with the latter making it the only location in mainland Europe capable of showing the film in its halo format. Not only is this format the way Nolan would want it to be seen, but Oppenheimer...