MIAMI \u2014 Movie fans have been setting off on long journeys of their own to see \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d the hit Christopher Nolan film based on Homer\u2019s ancient Greek epic, in the director\u2019s preferred format: IMAX 70 mm.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of them, from faraway lands such as Atlanta and even Latin America, have landed in Fort Lauderdale, home of the only movie theater in the state that offers the rare, immersive viewing experience on a six-story-high screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you want to see a really big film like this, this is where you come,\u201d said David Neal, 53, who traveled from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale for Friday afternoon\u2019s sold-out screening.<\/p>\n
The AutoNation IMAX 3D Theater at the Museum of Discovery and Science, which opened in 1992, is one of just 25 active IMAX 70 mm theaters<\/a> in the country. Worldwide, only about 40 theaters offer the format.<\/p>\n The blockbuster, the first feature film to be filmed entirely on IMAX film cameras, has broken records<\/a> since it released in theaters July 17. And it\u2019s been a gift from the gods for MODS. The theater has already sold 55,500 tickets for the film and is on track to beat its own record of 57,200, set in 2009 by James Cameron\u2019s \u201cAvatar.\u201d<\/p>\n When tickets for the film first dropped last year, museum CEO Joseph Cox said tickets sold out so fast, he couldn\u2019t even get one for himself. He had to wait for another round to drop. The film\u2019s run at MODS has been extended until Sept. 16, but tickets are going fast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cox said he\u2019s met moviegoers who drove from Atlanta and flew in from Chile and the Bahamas to “be part of this cultural moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like going to a concert. You want to be part of this whole crowd, to be immersed in this experience,\u201d Cox said. \u201cAs a science museum that has this incredible theater, our mission has always been connecting people to inspiring science. With the IMAX, we\u2019re inspiring curiosity about filmmaking. We\u2019re inspiring curiosity about this amazing technology.\u201d<\/p>\n But what makes IMAX 70 mm so special that people are willing to travel internationally to see it?<\/p>\n For starters, the AutoNation IMAX 3D Theater\u2019s screen is cyclops-sized \u2014 65 feet tall and 85 feet wide. The visuals are crystal clear and the sound is immersive. Cox compared it to listening to a symphony in person instead of a song on your phone speakers.<\/p>\n The promotional website for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d includes a section where viewers can watch the trailer in several available formats<\/a>, and it refers to IMAX 70 mm as the \u201clargest and highest-resolution format available.\u201d<\/p>\n Working with IMAX 70 mm, both for filming and projecting, is very technically difficult and expensive. The IMAX company developed a a new camera<\/a> to complete the Herculean task of filming an entire movie with one. New IMAX 70 mm projectors haven\u2019t been made in about 50 years, and parts needed to build these film projectors \u201csimply no longer exist,\u201d Variety reported.<\/a> At MODS, highly skilled specialists work hard to maintain and operate the museum\u2019s IMAX 70 mm projector, Cox said.<\/p>\n 70 mm film, much larger than standard 35 mm film, captures images at the equivalent of 18K resolution, \u201cfundamentally, spectacularly better\u201d than the typical 4K resolution, Cox explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so grateful to the people that most of our visitors don\u2019t get to see, who are the amazing projectionists. These are people who have trained for years to be able to run this incredibly complex, difficult to maintain piece of equipment,\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe\u2019ve focused on really preserving this capability because we believe that important technologies shouldn\u2019t just disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, audiences appreciate the craftsmanship.<\/p>\n Cox said people show up to wait in line at MODS, where the movie theater seating is not assigned, hours ahead of showtime to get a good seat. Neal, the Nolan fan from Orlando, arrived to the theater at 10 a.m. to be first in line for general admission for the 1:30 p.m. showtime. (The theater also offers priority seating at an extra cost.)<\/p>\n