IMAX and Spider-Man help push box office to new record

IMAX said Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey delivered a record-breaking $52 million worldwide debut in IMAX, a result that underscores how premium large-format screens have become a central draw for moviegoing. Spider-Man: Brand New Day joined the film in premium houses and helped push the domestic weekend box office to a new record, giving theaters two event titles that could not be duplicated at home.

The technical pitch behind The Odyssey was part of the story. IMAX said it developed entirely new film cameras so Nolan could shoot the film entirely on IMAX 70mm film, making it the first theatrical release shot that way. That made the movie more than a prestige title; it became a format test for an audience that increasingly treats the screen itself as part of the attraction.

Scarcity amplified the effect. The Verge noted that only 24 theaters in the United States were showing The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX at one point, turning each screening into a limited, high-demand event. Senior reviewer David Imel’s 70MM IMAX outing fed that same sense of occasion, the kind of experience people talk about afterward because it feels different from a standard multiplex visit.

That exclusivity is exactly what theaters are selling more aggressively in 2025 and 2026. A premium auditorium offers scale, sharper imagery and a collective reaction that streaming cannot reproduce, especially when a film arrives with the kind of built-in anticipation Nolan brings. The same logic applies to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, where franchise familiarity and premium presentation combine to make opening weekend feel like a shared cultural appointment rather than a disposable watch-at-home option.

The box-office numbers show that strategy is working. A $52 million IMAX debut is a strong signal on its own; paired with a domestic weekend record, it points to a theatrical business increasingly dependent on eventization, premium formats and a smaller number of films that can justify leaving home. For movie theaters, the clearest path back to cultural relevance is not more volume, but bigger experiences that turn a ticket into a destination.