Why Kerala's moviegoers are chasing the IMAX experience for Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'

For years, watching a film in IMAX was a novelty in India, something reserved for the occasional Hollywood blockbuster. Today, for many Christopher Nolan fans, it has become the only way to watch his films. That shift is already visible in Kerala, days before 'The Odyssey' reaches theatres.

While multiplexes across the state are preparing for the film's release on July 17, the earliest signs of audience enthusiasm are coming, not from regular screens but from the state's two IMAX auditoriums. BookMyShow's booking trends show premium seats at Cinepolis IMAX in Kochi filling steadily, particularly for the first day's morning shows. PVR IMAX in Thiruvananthapuram is witnessing a similar, though comparatively slower, response.

The pattern is striking because it reverses the way most films are booked.
Normally, audiences choose a convenient showtime and then decide where to watch it. 'The Odyssey' appears to be encouraging many viewers to do the opposite. They are choosing the format first.

The excitement isn't driven by Nolan's name alone. With 'The Odyssey', the filmmaker turns to Homer's ancient Greek epic, following the long and perilous journey of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, as he struggles to return home after the Trojan War. Along the way, he encounters mythical creatures, vengeful gods and extraordinary challenges, while his wife Penelope and son Telemachus wait for his return and fight to protect his kingdom. Matt Damon leads the ensemble cast as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron and several other Hollywood stars.

The scale of that story is reflected in how Nolan chose to make the film. 'The Odyssey' is the first feature-length film in cinema history to be shot entirely using IMAX film cameras. To make that possible, IMAX developed a new generation of lighter, quieter cameras specifically for Nolan, allowing him to film everything from intimate dialogue scenes to large-scale battle sequences in the format. The result is a film conceived for giant screens rather than one that has simply been adapted for them.

That ambition runs into a practical limitation in Kerala, where Cinepolis IMAX with Laser in Kochi and PVR IMAX at Lulu Mall in Thiruvananthapuram remain the state's only two IMAX theatres.
Yet, even with ticket prices running well above those of conventional screenings, those are the screens many viewers appear to be prioritising.

BookMyShow data suggests Kochi has emerged as the stronger market. The earliest IMAX shows have seen the healthiest advance bookings, with premium centre seats disappearing first while front-row and edge seats remain available. Thiruvananthapuram has recorded steady bookings as well, though with more seats still open across several categories.

Outside those two theatres, the picture changes.
More than two dozen regular screenings have been scheduled across Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram on release day. Many of those shows, however, still have significant availability. The difference cannot be explained by demand alone.

IMAX bookings opened nationally on June 8, more than a month before release, while bookings for standard screenings opened later. That gave audiences determined to secure an IMAX ticket an early opportunity to do so.

Film exhibitors say the booking pattern reflects that preference.
"The demand right now is mainly for IMAX," says K Vijayakumar, president of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala. "Overall, the advance bookings are still on the lower side."

Suresh Shenoy, owner of Shenoys in Kochi, believes the staggered booking windows have influenced audience behaviour.
"With Nolan's last release 'Oppenheimer', bookings for all theatres opened together, so audiences booked across formats. This time, IMAX bookings came first, and those who wanted that experience booked immediately," he says. "Since Kerala has only two IMAX screens, people are travelling from different districts to watch the film there."

His own theatre has lined up nine screenings on opening day, yet advance bookings remain modest.

"If the film gets a strong response after release, bookings will definitely increase," he says.
Shenoy also believes 'The Odyssey' raises a larger question about premium exhibition.
"When a film is made for IMAX, audiences naturally want to watch it that way. But not everyone has access to that format. It ends up catering to a specific section of viewers because the ticket prices are much higher."

It is too early to conclude whether that preference will translate into a bigger opening weekend or whether regular theatres will catch up once reviews begin circulating.
Even so, the early booking patterns reveal something that goes beyond one film.

Christopher Nolan has spent years convincing audiences that IMAX is not an upgrade but part of the storytelling itself. With 'The Odyssey', that idea appears to have taken root. Before the first review has been published and before a single ticket has been scanned at the gates, many moviegoers have already made one decision. Not whether to watch 'The Odyssey'. But where.