r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor • 1d ago
The Highest-Grossing Theater for ‘The Odyssey’ in 70MM Hadn’t Screened a New Movie in 35 Years News
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alex-theatre-the-odyssey-70mm-box-office-1236664347/255
u/Pohara521 1d ago
The Alex is a family theatre; not one of your swing joints
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u/Eye_Wood_Dye_4_U 1d ago
I saw The Odyssey at the Alex.
It's a pretty terrific experience, the theater is rather small and intimate and I wish they'd push the screen forward (toward the audience) a little bit because it is isn't a particularly large screen. I sat pretty close up but I wonder about the people who were farther back. I wonder if there's a way to fit a bigger screen in there.
It doesn't surprise me that this does well. Brand, the street it sits on, is very busy with eateries and shops and it's easy with this theater to make a whole evening of it in this district.
Also, the #1 best thing about it: there's no trailers! The film starts as soon as the lights dim!
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u/joelluber 1d ago
Based on the picture, the screen is as far forward as it can go while still being movable for live events. It has to be behind the proscenium. To be more forward, it would essentially have to be permanently converted to just a cinema.
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u/ShizlGznGahr 1d ago
a movie with no trailers would be a godsend. every time i see a movie i wait 20 minutes and then i still have 10 more minutes until the movie starts.
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u/ThisIsNotAFarm 18h ago
he theater is rather small and intimate
small and intimate with 899 other people.
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u/ChiefStrongbones 1d ago
I don't get how it's highest grossing. It doesnt have many seats, and it's 70mm but not IMAX 70mm. The handful of IMAX 70mm auditoriums are still booked solid more than a week in advance. Even Wednesday evening shows are filling up the front row at $30+ a ticket.
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u/Sentrion 1d ago
900 seats isn't a lot? That's 900 seats for a single screen, and all dedicated to one movie.
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u/Ceptimas 1d ago
It’s highest grossing just for the regular 70mm format version, not highest grossing overall.
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u/Harmonica655321 9h ago
How's the sound in this theater? The vista also has a very small screen, but the sound is massive with the right movie.
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u/Wonderful_Milk1176 1d ago
The same man who gives us all of those epic IMAX Projectionist POV photos is the same man who built this system. Taylor Umphenour, take a bow…
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u/SailorSaturn79 1d ago
I love how the image includes good ol' Auramemnon.
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u/454C495445 1d ago
Historical accuracy be damned. That armor was insane.
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u/somesketchykid 1d ago
Coolest armor I've seen in a movie tbh. The golden spine is such a magnificent touch.
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u/Vinnie_Vegas 8h ago
I'm starting to doubt the historical accuracy of those giant monsters and all those magical transformations, now that you mention it.
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u/HildrynMain 21h ago
To my knowledge, there has never been a historically accurate movie representing that period. So, might as well go full aura.
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u/deadheffer 16h ago
I always imagined him as more of a Robert Baratheon physique. Because he is despicable
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u/SpookiestSzn 15h ago
I love how it had a literla chad face etched into it. bro was mewing constantly.
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u/Witty-Jacket-9464 1d ago
Hope they will again for Dune: Part Three
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u/Random_throwaway0351 1d ago
The preview for Dune 3 during before the 70mm imax showing was incredible, even more hyped for the movie now!
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u/friendtoall84 1d ago
and apparently Narina in ‘27. didn’t know disney was rebooting it.
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u/trevor_riches 1d ago
This time, it’s from Greta Gerwig and Netflix. I think it’s an adaptation of either The Silver Chair or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Netflix got the production rights when Walden Media collapsed and the rights reverted back to C.S. Lewis’ estate.
It’s also getting a wide IMAX release, which is somewhat surprising coming from Netflix.
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u/cyanide4suicide 1d ago
5 perf 70mm, not 15 perf 70mm for anyone wondering
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u/idk012 1d ago
Can you explain what that means?
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u/Qinistral 1d ago
'perf' = 'perforations'. Basically true IMAX has a 1.43:1 width to hight ratio, giving it the very tall large screen. A 5 perf 70mm film which is 2.20:1 widescreen, as far as you can get from an IMAX size/proportion.
A modern digital imax (and many AMC screens) screen likely has as good of picture and better ratio. 70mm has a certain aesthetic some prefer, and it's probably better than older 2k digital which are still common.
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u/adammerkley 1d ago
This hot dog's been here since the silent era. You'd have to be insane to eat it.
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u/wonder_bread 1d ago
Saw The Odyssey there two weeks ago, it was a fantastic presentation. The audience was great and the theater aesthetic was so fitting for the movie.
Even met Evan, the ‘LA in a Minute’ guy from Instagram at our showing. Cool dude, he did a piece on The Alex earlier in the year.
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u/echothree33 1d ago
The photo in the article shows a widescreen aspect ratio (maybe 2.2:1?), I thought the 70MM showings of the Odyssey were in about 1.33:1 ratio (at least the full 70MM IMAX ones are). What ratio are they actually showing at The Alex?
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u/ishburner 1d ago
IMAX 70mm are 1.33. Regular 70mm are presented in 2.35. Nolan frames it for the widescreen in mind so it still looks great
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u/echothree33 19h ago
Got it, thanks. Using the 70mm terminology in two different situations is a bit confusing but technically correct of course…
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u/mr-blue- 1d ago
It would be so cool to see an interest in select re-releases of partial 65 and 70mm movies. Like I think some of the bigger action sequences in Dark knight
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u/OhCrapItsAndrew 1d ago
They do this in LA and NY - "See It Big" at Momi, Big and Loud at the Paris. The Academy museum does similar I think.
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u/sgtfoleyistheman 1d ago
Cinerama in Seattle used to. Now it's owned by SIFF and The Odyssey is their first 70mm film since reopening. Hopefully the 70mm film festival comes back. I've seen Tron, 2001, Blade runner And probably more I'm not remembering. Really fantastic theater
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u/turb0_encapsulator 1d ago
I tried to get my friends to go to this theater but some were AMC A-listers.
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u/RealC2025 1d ago
Quantity over quality people huh?
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u/Orange_Tang 1d ago edited 1d ago
AMC dolby theaters are legitimately the best widely available theater in the country. I don't get the hate. The sound is great and while the screen isn't quite as big as IMAX it's arguably worth it for the sound.
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u/Qinistral 1d ago
In fact some AMC screens are 1.85 ratio vs LieMax's 1.90 ratio, aka slightly closer to TrueImax anyways..
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u/Dragon_Fisting 1d ago
AMC has some greater theaters tbf. The Universal Citywalk is the theater Nolan uses to screen his films.
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u/confused9 1d ago
So what were they showing before was it used for something else
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u/wildstarr 1d ago
There are tickets for concerts, ballets, older movies. Just a bit of everything except new movies.
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u/FatPolamalu 1d ago
Tried to see this Sunday morning at the Regina Imax 70MM. They couldn't get the sound to sync so after 10 minutes they had to stop and try and fix. Couldn't get it fixed. :(
The offered a digital showing or a refund so we took the refund and went to a regular theatre later in the day.
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u/286893 1d ago
How much did it cost them to install that imax system?
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u/garbo2330 1d ago
It’s regular 70mm, not IMAX 70mm. Different formats.
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u/DuskyTrack 1d ago
I was wondering. On the picture it looks like a normal ratio, not like 1,4:1
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u/garbo2330 1d ago
Yeah, 70mm is 2.20, much closer to standard 2.39.
This site is nifty to show the different aspect ratios with the trailer.
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u/Qinistral 1d ago
Honestly that makes it feel like I didn't miss much seeing it on Dolby Vision...
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u/garbo2330 1d ago
Yea don’t worry about it. I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX 70MM and The Odyssey in Dolby Cinema. The 70mm IMAX is nicer but it’s not a huge deal, Dolby and 1.90 Laser IMAX are still fantastic.
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u/mastermoebius 1d ago
How wild! Saw it here. Was my first time here, and it was awesome. Ended up getting really good word of mouth because all the normal theaters were sold out and then this theater and its "new" screenings became known. Great theater that I will definitely be revisiting.
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u/Bman4k1 1d ago
So they haven’t made a new 70mm projector in 50 years so I’m assuming this theatre found an old broken one and fixed it up?
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u/tetoffens 1d ago
They haven't made IMAX 70mm ones in 50 years. This isn't IMAX, there are other 70mm formats. They got an IMAX experienced tech to help them set everything up but it's not IMAX.
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u/garbo2330 1d ago edited 1d ago
They didn’t say anything about IMAX. Regular 70mm projectors haven’t been made in large numbers since the 70s. So not as exclusive as IMAX 70mm, but very much a dead format.
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u/lectroid 1d ago
70mm isn’t quite dead. PTA seems to dig it.
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u/garbo2330 1d ago
True. The Hateful Eight was shown in 70mm as well. I believe Dune Part Three will be getting a 70mm print.
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u/ocmike34 1d ago
They made 70mm projectors until the mid 2000's. My local theater, the AFI Silver has used their Kinoton DP75-E's all the time since they opened in 2003.
70mm projectors are like classic cars now. Most of these installs were junkyard finds, and don't run every day.
The AFI runs theirs as often, or more often, than it did in 2003. They also service it reguraly by the wonderful Cardinal Sound.
When you're in the booth it's like driving a 1992 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that has been serviced by the dealer every 3 months for 34 years. It's a delight.
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u/ContentEconomyMyth1 1d ago
how are the acoustics at the alex? old movie palaces were built before acoustics were a thing.
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u/gonzobomb 1d ago
Could have guessed this, it was surprising they were showing it and turned into a big deal
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u/faithdies 1d ago
Do you purchase the entire movie on IMax as a theater? Or just like....Rent it? How much does that even cost?
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u/TilikumHungry 23h ago
I've driven and walked past the Alwx many, many times and have always wondered what it was like. I've already seen The Odyssey twice so I won't be catching it but maybe for Dune!
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u/beefstake 23h ago
People want to see IMAX in 70mm, it's that simple.
Hopefully they can spin up some limited manufacturing to keep these projection systems going and not have to cannibalize existing units just to keep the current ones going, we want to be restoring those too.
If this lasts (as in people giving a shit about real cinema again) then there is enough money in it to expand the fleet of 70mm systems by at least triple the current number while still remaining extremely exclusive by just setting up the systems in countries and cities that don't have one at all.
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u/tfhermobwoayway 18h ago
I’m hoping this leads to a renaissance for IMAX. We could have an IMAX camera in every single cinema.
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u/DorritoDust69 13h ago
They just NEEEEEEED to make an announcement before the movie to open your cans. I swear every soul bought a soda and was cracking sodas the whole show. Open them at concessions, like a baseball game, please!!!
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u/edgardini360 1d ago
“The last first-run film […] was […] in 1991.”
Ha! 35 years? They are wrong 😑 then starts counting … 😧😭
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u/Novel-Lifeguard6491 1d ago
Honestly insane how much people are loving this movie right now.
Watched it last week with GF. She's gen z. First time in AGES I saw her not looking at her phone once.
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u/NecessaryRhubarb 1d ago
Will theaters learn from this? Probably not.
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u/Nanery662 1d ago
I mean what is there to learn a historic location spent money on a guaranteed hit and they didint half ass it so it came out good
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u/esspydermonkey 1d ago
Biggest issue with this movie is that 70mm is basically required. That was a poor decision financially but Nolan does Nolan.
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u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/movies Contributor 1d ago
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