'The Odyssey' breaks AMC record for top first-day PLF ticket sales since 2022

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has shattered records at AMC with its first-day advance PLF ticket sales, marking the highest presales for a major studio release at the circuit in the past four years, Deadline has learned.

While standard showtimes will roll out later this summer, Thursday’s ticket launch was restricted to premium formats — IMAX at AMC, Dolby Cinema at AMC, and PRIME at AMC. The demand was so intense that AMC’s ticketing site saw wait times of up to an hour before easing to eight minutes. Rival chains Regal and Cinemark, however, reported no significant delays during presales for the Nolan epic.

The PLF presales for The Odyssey not only outpaced all first-day presales for major studio releases since 2022, but also stand as AMC’s strongest year-to-date performance for any studio title. Only AMC’s in-house concert films featuring Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have posted higher first-day numbers.

Universal previously made headlines by putting 70MM and 70MM IMAX tickets on sale a full year in advance — those showings sold out instantly. As of now, more than six million seats remain available across AMC’s IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and PRIME auditoriums, with traditional showtime tickets expected to go on sale later this month, further expanding availability for opening weekend.

Nolan’s $250 million epic, shot entirely on IMAX cameras, will dominate large-format screens for three weeks following its July 20 release. The film stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, and more, marking Nolan’s first project since his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer (2023). The Odyssey is produced by Emma Thomas.