The Odyssey opens in India with ticket prices soaring to Rs 3,400

MUMBAI: Getting home was never cheap for Odysseus and watching his journey isn’t either. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has sailed into Indian cinemas with premium ticket prices touching Rs 3,400, underlining the filmmaker’s enduring box office pull and audiences’ willingness to pay top dollar for the big-screen experience.

The much-anticipated epic released across India on July 17, with demand building well before its theatrical debut after advance bookings opened on June 8.

Ticket prices vary sharply depending on the city, cinema chain, screen format and seating category. While standard seats at some multiplexes are available for around Rs 150, moviegoers opting for recliners and premium large-format screens are paying several times more.

The highest listed ticket price is Rs 3,400 for recliner seats at INOX Megaplex, Phoenix Mall of the Millennium in Wakad, Pune. In Mumbai, recliner seats at PVR ICON, Phoenix Palladium, Lower Parel are priced at around Rs 3,100, while audiences in Delhi-NCR can pay up to Rs 2,500 for recliner seats at PVR IMAX with Laser, Priya.

Premium pricing extends beyond the metro cities. Tickets at Cinepolis Nexus Shantiniketan in Bengaluru are priced at around Rs 1,950, while moviegoers at INOX South City Mall can expect to pay nearly Rs 1,240. Multiplexes have also scheduled screenings throughout the day, with the first shows beginning around 8.20 am and the final screenings running close to midnight.

The pricing strategy reflects the premium positioning of Nolan’s latest release. The Odyssey is the first feature film shot entirely using IMAX film cameras, making large-format presentations a major draw for cinema enthusiasts. Although India does not have an IMAX 70mm venue screening the film in its native format, digital IMAX and other premium screens have generated strong demand.

The film is also being closely watched as a potential challenger to the Indian box office performance of Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which earned around Rs 131.73 crore net during its theatrical run in 2023. Strong advance bookings have fuelled expectations that The Odyssey could deliver one of Hollywood’s biggest openings of the year in India.

Adapted from Homer’s ancient Greek epic, the film follows Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, on his perilous journey home after the Trojan War. Matt Damon leads the cast as Odysseus, with Anne Hathaway playing Penelope and Tom Holland portraying Telemachus. The ensemble also features Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton and Charlize Theron.

Whether audiences embrace the premium pricing or balk at the cost, The Odyssey has already achieved one feat before its box office journey truly begins, it has once again turned a Christopher Nolan release into an event that extends well beyond the cinema screen.