{"id":297867,"date":"2026-07-16T18:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/297867\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T18:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T18:04:08","slug":"people-from-all-over-are-traveling-to-the-upper-west-side-to-watch-a-movie-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/297867\/","title":{"rendered":"People From all Over are Traveling to the Upper West Side to Watch a Movie: Here’s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A poster for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d at the AMC Lincoln Square theater. Photo by Emily Tannenhauser.<\/p>\n

By Josh Stern<\/p>\n

There are few, if any, film directors in the world currently as hot as Christopher Nolan. His last film \u201cOppenheimer\u201d grossed over $976 million (at the time, the highest grossing biopic ever) and earned seven Oscars in 2024. It followed a long line of critically acclaimed films that includes \u201cMemento,\u201d \u201cThe Dark Knight,\u201d \u201cInception,\u201d \u201cInterstellar,\u201d \u201cDunkirk\u201d and more. Nolan returns to theaters this week with his newest effort, a nearly three-hour-long epic adaptation of \u201cThe Odyssey.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the best place to watch it in the Northern Hemisphere? Right here on the Upper West Side.<\/p>\n

Hidden within the AMC Lincoln Square multiplex at West 68th Street and Broadway sits the second-largest IMAX 70mm movie theater in the world, and it is becoming a mecca for film buffs. The only larger IMAX theater is in Melbourne, Australia, 10,000 miles away.<\/p>\n

IMAX 70mm\u2019s fandom has exploded in popularity in recent years, expanding from only the nerdiest of cinephiles to mainstream moviegoers.<\/p>\n

So what exactly makes it special? IMAX 70mm is an analog film format with the highest picture resolution ever devised. Unlike digital projection where images are condensed or standard projection where film runs vertically through the projector, IMAX 70mm is run horizontally on a film reel where each frame measures precisely 15 perforations. This results in unprecedented clarity and, when projected on screen, measures in at a whopping 18K resolution, a massive amount of visual detail.<\/p>\n

IMAX 70mm theaters are also known for their gargantuan size, with the average screen sitting at 52 feet high by 73 feet wide. AMC Lincoln Square\u2019s screen is 75.6 feet high by 101 feet wide. That is as high as a seven-story building and as wide as a Boeing 737-500.<\/p>\n

Despite their growing popularity, true IMAX 70mm theaters are exceedingly rare. Because of the steep construction and maintenance costs accompanying them, only about 30 IMAX 70mm theaters exist in the world, and New York\u2019s is the largest this side of the Equator.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Posters for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d in IMAX at AMC Lincoln Square. Photo by Emily Tannenhauser.<\/p>\n

AMC Lincoln Square isn\u2019t just patronized by Upper West Side locals. Logan Algood, a 30-year-old movie theater employee from St. Louis, is planning an odyssey of his own to New York to see the film in all of its IMAX 70mm glory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started planning probably three-four months ago,\u201d he told the Rag. \u201cThe film to me really feels like a monumental achievement, especially being the first ever entirely shot on IMAX cameras. Nolan\u2019s craft feels like it necessitates being seen in the most immersive experience possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

While St. Louis has premium formats, it has nothing comparable to the IMAX 70mm theater on the Upper West Side, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral people have asked why I\u2019d waste my time and money going to New York just to watch a movie. It is a movie, yes, but to me, it\u2019s much more of an experience. Why shouldn\u2019t I travel to see one of my favorite director\u2019s new films in the format that he intended for it to be seen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Logan isn\u2019t alone. \u201cIMAX tourism\u201d has become a phenomenon in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Mexico and I\u2019m going to NYC in July [for the movie]. I bought a ticket for the front row just to see a real IMAX 70mm, which in Mexico doesn\u2019t exist. Imagine how many like me will do something like that,\u201d one social media user posted.<\/p>\n

Even Matt Damon, who stars in the blockbuster as Odysseus, is a fan of the theater; in an interview with Collider, he revealed that he has already seen the film at the Upper West Side theater and called the experience \u201coverwhelming in the best possible way,\u201d adding that \u201cI wish it just played there in perpetuity so everyone could go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone is happy about the rise in the format\u2019s popularity, however. John, an Upper West Side resident since 1998 who asked that his last name not be used, is frustrated with the influx of theatergoers. \u201cI\u2019ve been going to Lincoln Square\u2019s IMAX for 20 years and have never seen a movie sold out like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had pretty much a sellout for the entire month that we currently have [tickets] on sale,\u201d said Cory, an employee at AMC Lincoln Square. \u201cThe day that tickets released, we had people lined up out the door, as well as our phone ringing off the hook. It got to the point that our systems crashed for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He understands the demand though. \u201cThis has actually been a dream job of mine since I was a kid growing up in Florida, to work at this theater. When you have something like our IMAX theater, it almost feels closer to a theme park than a movie,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest screen in the country,\u201d he added with a smile. \u201cOf course people are gonna want to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Odyssey at AMC Lincoln Square opens Thursday. For now, there is limited ticket availability, but would-be patrons should check for late cancellations in the hours leading up to a showtime.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A poster for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d at the AMC Lincoln Square theater. Photo by Emily Tannenhauser. By Josh Stern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[113012,128,9,24,63,129,131,130,108563],"class_list":["post-297867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-amc-lincoln-square","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-the-odyssey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}