After less than a week, it’s already clear that the new Christopher Nolan film “The Odyssey” is a monster hit.

In its first weekend of theatrical release, the epic made $124.5 million at the domestic box office and $261 million globally, giving it the third-best domestic debut of 2026 so far, behind “Toy Story 5” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”

This easily cements director Christopher Nolan as one of most bankable directors in Hollywood today, if not the most. But Nolan is also a visionary in the technical art of filmmaking.

“The Odyssey,” based on the millennia-old ancient Greek poem by Homer, stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and a galaxy of other stars. It was filmed entirely on IMAX 70mm film cameras, the first feature film to achieve this feat.

It was a hero’s labor to make an entire feature film with this method, requiring IMAX and Nolan to work together to create solutions to several technical issues throughout the shoot. Chief among them was the loudness of the IMAX film cameras, a problem solved with a device called “The Blimp.” But the grand scale and high resolution of the picture make the challenges worth it for dazzled audiences.

That is, if you’re able to access it.

Only 25 theaters in the country are equipped to show movies in 70mm IMAX. These screens show the film as Nolan intended it to be seen, with the highest resolution and on the biggest screen possible. With standard film at 35mm, the 70mm film is physically bigger, so having a screen that fits the projected film allows for images to be complete, crisp and immersive.

Alas, Pittsburgh has no 70mm IMAX screens to offer. If you’re dead-set on seeing “The Odyssey” in that format, your best bet is to trek to Rochester, N.Y., or King of Prussia, Pa., both more than a four-hour drive away.

Even if you’re willing to make that trip, there are monsters: with the small pool of theaters and showtimes, coupled with massive demand, 70mm IMAX screenings have sold out far in advance. In fact, tickets for those special showings went on sale a year ago.

In the Pittsburgh area, your closest option is the IMAX with Laser theater at the AMC Waterfront 22 in Homestead. And even tickets for those showings are going fast.

While the single-laser projection isn’t ideal, it’s still a great moviegoing experience for the nearly-three-hour-long adventure. The theater offers 12-channel sound — a mind-blowing experience you’ll want for the booming sound design in “The Odyssey.”

If you’re looking for the texture and clarity that only film can give you, there will soon be an option in the Pittsburgh area — though not in IMAX and not for “The Odyssey.” Almost a year after reopening the Hollywood Theater in Dormont, Row House Cinemas announced Wednesday that they would start showing standard 70mm films at the theater (now named Row House Hollywood).

They will start by showing another legendary epic film — 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia” — on standard 70mm film on Aug. 1 and 2.

This analog film projection program makes Row House Hollywood unique in the region as a home of preservation and a destination for movie lovers.

“The incredible visual quality of 70mm is still unmatched by digital,” said Katerina Sarandou, Row House’s director of projection, in a release. “Pittsburgh is a city of film lovers who deserve unique and unparalleled viewing experiences.”

If blockbuster films continue to be made with IMAX 70mm film, Southwestern Pennsylvania may someday have movie houses capable of showing them in their intended format. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for what we’ve got — or undertake an odyssey of our own to distant theaters.