Here are the IMAX theaters that can play 'The Odyssey' in true 70mm

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The best way to take in the spectacle is at the hard-to-find IMAX 70mm film theaters.

A behind the scenes photo shows Christopher Nolan directing the Odyssey with large IMAX camera and actors Zendaya and Matt Damon

Melinda Sue Gordon - Universal PIctures

Christopher Nolan's epic The Odyssey, arriving on July 17, is the first feature film shot entirely using IMAX's incredible 70mm format. Now that tickets are on sale, you may be wondering where to see it. Here's my guide on finding a theater and tickets to get the full, jaw-dropping IMAX experience.

The best way to take in The Odyssey's spectacle, by far, is at the hard to find true 70mm IMAX film theaters. Screens are a colossal 59 by 79 feet and relatively square (1.43 to 1) to fill your field of vision. The 15-perf 70mm (15/70 IMAX) film runs horizontally through the projector, allowing for massive a 70mm x 48.5mm frame size. That's almost nine times the area of regular 35mm movie film, equivalent to around 16K to 18K digitally, providing a hyper-real and immersive experience.

Despite its advantages, no feature-length movie has ever been fully shot on IMAX 70mm film. That's because the cameras are so noisy, it's impossible to record actor's voices on set. Many films have employed 15/70 IMAX for some segments, most recently Sinners and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, but both used other formats like standard 65mm film for dialog scenes.

IMAX 70mm and IMAX with Laser vs 70mm projection formats IMAX/Engadget

With The Odyssey, Nolan finally solved the noise problem by placing the cameras in special acoustic enclosures. Though incredibly bulky at nearly 400 pounds, the new system (dubbed "Keighley") allowed the team to film even intimate dialog scenes on IMAX. Nolan also created visual effects in-camera with minimal CGI, and did color correction using filters without a digital intermediate process. The final IMAX projection prints were struck chemically, directly from the negative, to provide the cleanest image possible.

"[IMAX 15/70] is the highest quality imaging format that's ever been devised. There's nothing that competes with it," Nolan told CBS's 60 Minutes last month. "It's a massive negative, which when correctly exposed, correctly printed, and projected onto a huge screen... there's an image quality there that you can't get anywhere else."

If you're eager to see The Odyseey in 70mm IMAX, you'll need to act quickly as there are only 30 such theaters in the US and nine in Canada, plus six others elsewhere around the world. Here's where to find locations projecting that format, along with links to reserve your seats. Though many sold out their initial run, most theaters have added showtimes and screening and do have good seats available for certain dates and times. The movie premieres on July 17, but many theaters are offering early screenings starting on July 16.

United States

Canada

Digital IMAX

If there are no 15/70 IMAX film theaters in your region, the next best option is the IMAX with Laser 4K digital option with laser projection at 1.43 to 1, using the GT Laser dual projector system. You can also see that same system and aspect ratio at select Omnimax dome theaters.

Since 4K resolution is significantly reduced compared to the effective 18K film print, IMAX with Laser 4K screenings won't be as sharp or immersive. However, they'll be just as bright and still offering higher resolution than regular digital Odyssey 2K screenings. Here's a confirmed list of theaters offering IMAX with laser at the 1.43 to 1 aspect ratio (including Omnimax).

The next best option is 70mm film projection (5/70) at a 2.2 to 1 aspect ratio if you still want to see Odyssey projected on film. That runs through the projector vertically rather than horizontally, so the frames are around half the size of 15/70 IMAX. However, the resolution is still more than double that of standard 35mm film.

If none of those area available, choose IMAX 4K laser at a wider 1.90 to 1 aspect ratio. That uses several laser systems, with the brightest and sharpest being GT Laser with dual projectors. The others are the single projector CoLa and XT systems. For those and other IMAX theaters and formats, check your local listings for times and tickets.