The Odyssey Extends Its 70mm Voyage at Los Angeles’ Historic Alex Theatre

The lights have barely dimmed on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, yet one of its most distinctive theatrical chapters is already earning an encore. Los Angeles’ historic Alex Theatre will continue screening the film in 70mm through 20 August 2026, extending a special engagement that has turned the venue into one of the release’s most notable big-screen destinations.

The extension follows what the theatre describes as overwhelming audience demand. It also gives the Alex a rare place in the film’s modern exhibition story: The Odyssey became the first first-run film shown there since Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991, ending a 35-year gap between new releases.

A theatre reopens its largest frame

The Alex’s return to first-run presentation was made possible by recent technical upgrades, including the installation of 70mm film projectors. Those systems welcomed audiences for the film’s special engagement on 17 July, putting Nolan’s latest spectacle on a format associated with scale, texture and a more tactile relationship with the image.

That choice matters particularly with The Odyssey. Nolan shot the entire film in IMAX 70mm, and the format has helped drive audiences towards venues capable of offering a presentation closer to the filmmaker’s stated intention. The Alex is now reported to be the highest-grossing theatre exhibiting the film in 70mm, a notable achievement for a historic venue whose return to first-run cinema was itself an event.

Alex Theatre artistic director Miles Williams credited filmgoers across Los Angeles and Southern California for the response. He described the success as evidence that audiences continue to value seeing ambitious films together in a cinema.

Williams added that the response was “a wonderful reminder of how much people still value the shared experience of seeing a great film together”. His comments frame the extension as more than a commercial decision: it is also a vote of confidence in collective cinema-going at a time when audiences have more ways than ever to watch films at home.

Nolan’s epic keeps the voyage moving

The Alex extension arrives as The Odyssey continues its strong global box-office run. The film had reached $911 million worldwide after three weekends, placing it close to the $1 billion milestone. The supplied figures do not provide a breakdown by territory, but they underline the scale of interest surrounding Nolan’s interpretation of the epic source material.

For the Alex, the engagement carries an additional sense of cultural continuity. Historic theatres often rely on repertory programming, special events or restored classics to make the most of their architecture and presentation capabilities. Here, the venue’s upgraded projection systems are being used for a newly released film, allowing the theatre to operate as both a living landmark and an active part of Hollywood’s current release landscape.

Williams also thanked Universal Pictures for recognising the continuing role of historic theatres and for partnering with the Alex on the release. That relationship has helped place a major contemporary production inside a venue whose history is part of Los Angeles’ filmgoing identity.

With screenings now continuing until 20 August, audiences across Los Angeles and Southern California have more time to make the journey. Whether drawn by Nolan’s large-format imagery, the rarity of a 70mm presentation or the chance to see a new film at the Alex after decades without a first-run title, the theatre’s extended run gives The Odyssey another stretch of open water.

Details of the extension and the Alex Theatre’s presentation were reported by Deadline Film.