NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 05: Cars drive by the AMC Loews Lincoln Square on March 05, 2021 in New York City. AMC Theatres reopened its New York area locations today, with new safety precautions in place, for the first time since closing in March bec …
NEW YORK CITY - Getting a ticket to Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey" in true IMAX 70 mm has become an epic quest of its own. Fans are battling over sold-out showings at the city's only capable theater as some resellers are demanding over $1,000 for a single seat.
By the numbers:
A standard IMAX 70 mm ticket purchased directly through AMC usually costs less than $35, but third-party sellers are cashing in on the frenzy.
One opportunistic eBay merchant successfully sold three sets of pairs of tickets to the Upper West Side’s AMC Lincoln Square 13 for a massive asking price of $999, as originally reported by the New York Post.
Other scalpers are hawking six "prime seats" for $998 and three back-row spots for $899. One particularly ambitious reseller even listed a five-ticket bundle for an August screening at $7,000, though that astronomical asking price hadn't attracted any buyers as of Tuesday.
Dig deeper:
The exorbitant markup is driven by the exclusivity of the format itself. Nolan filmed "The Odyssey" specifically for IMAX 70 mm, which is the highest-resolution projection format available.
With only about 40 theaters across the globe equipped to handle true IMAX 70 mm film, fans are in a frenzy to secure seats.
New York City has just one capable venue: AMC Lincoln Square 13, which houses the largest screen in the United States at a towering 75.6 feet tall and 101 feet wide.
What we know:
To meet the overwhelming demand, Lincoln Square theater has been running a grueling, around-the-clock schedule. Yet, even with 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. showings, IMAX 70 mm screenings of "The Odyssey" were completely sold out through August 19, according to the NY Post.
Currently, the only remaining IMAX 70 mm tickets at the venue are for wheelchair-accessible seats.
For those who can live without the true IMAX 70 mm experience, securing a ticket is a breeze, with plenty of standard-priced seats still available for the venue's Dolby and Laser showings.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the New York Post, AMC and eBay.