Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has reached a new milestone at London’s BFI IMAX, becoming the highest-grossing film in the cinema’s history. The epic has now moved past James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) at the UK venue, continuing a remarkable run for Nolan’s latest film.
Record Attendance Pushes Film Past Avatar
BFI IMAX has sold more than 101,000 tickets for The Odyssey, generating £2,683,987 in ticket revenue from the single screen. The film has also recorded a 95% occupancy rate across all showtimes currently on sale.
The performance places The Odyssey at the top of BFI IMAX’s all-time box office rankings, ahead of Avatar. The London venue is also currently the leading IMAX location in both the UK and international markets for the film.
Globally, BFI IMAX ranks as the second-highest-grossing IMAX screen for The Odyssey, behind the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, which has almost twice the capacity.
A Film Designed for the IMAX Experience
One of the biggest attractions of The Odyssey is its large-format presentation. The film is the first feature to be shot entirely using IMAX film cameras, allowing audiences at selected venues to experience it in the format for which it was specifically made.
At BFI IMAX, the film is being presented from a rare IMAX 70mm print. The format gives the film a presentation that matches Nolan’s emphasis on large-screen theatrical viewing.
BFI IMAX in Waterloo is the UK’s largest cinema screen. It measures 26 metres wide and almost 20 metres high, covering roughly 280 square metres. The scale of the screen has made the venue a major destination for audiences looking to see Nolan’s epic on film.
Demand Has Kept Tickets Scarce
The demand for The Odyssey at BFI IMAX began long before its theatrical release. Tickets for the film became extremely difficult to secure, with screenings selling out well in advance.
The early demand was already clear when tickets first went on sale. BFI IMAX sold 28,000 tickets within the first 24 hours, generating £750,000 and setting a new record for the venue’s first-day ticket sales.
That figure surpassed the previous record held by Dune: Part Two, which generated £366,000 during its first 24 hours of sales. Nolan’s Oppenheimer followed with £254,000 over the same period.
The film’s opening weekend also produced a new BFI IMAX record. The Odyssey earned £219,867 across three days, surpassing the previous opening-weekend record held by Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
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Nolan Dominates the BFI IMAX Rankings
The success of The Odyssey also adds another major Nolan title to an already strong BFI IMAX record.
The current top 10 highest-grossing films at the venue are:
- The Odyssey (Christopher Nolan, 2026)
- Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
- Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
- The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
- The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
- Dune: Part Two (Denis Villeneuve, 2024)
- Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
- Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron, 2022)
Five of the 10 films were directed by Nolan, highlighting the filmmaker’s long-standing connection with the BFI IMAX audience.
A Record-Breaking Run From the Start
The extraordinary response to The Odyssey began almost a year before its release. Four opening-weekend screenings at BFI IMAX sold out in less than an hour, while the venue later recorded its biggest-ever first-day presale with the sale of 28,000 tickets.
The cinema also hosted a Nolan retrospective ahead of the film’s launch, adding to the anticipation surrounding his return to the big screen.
With more than 101,000 admissions already recorded, The Odyssey has now established itself as the biggest film in BFI IMAX history, overtaking Avatar and strengthening Nolan’s extraordinary box office record at the London venue.
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