Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' is using new IMAX film cameras to shoot entirely on 65mm

No commercial feature has even been shot entirely on IMAX film as the cameras are too big and too noisy for some scenes. Christopher Nolan challenged IMAX to sort that out, and it has with four new cameras and The Odyssey shooting 100% on IMAX film.

Here’s a name drop for you.

“Chris called me up and said, ‘If you can figure out how to solve the problems, I will make [Odyssey] 100 percent in IMAX.’ And that’s what we’re doing,” said IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond, in Cannes last week.

The Chris in question is, of course, is Christopher Nolan, and The Odyssey is his latest project, an estimated $250 million adaptation of Homer’s epic poem currently slated for release in July 2026. While 100% IMAX releases have been done before, they have always shot on the new generation of IMAX digital cameras. The Odyssey will be the first commercial release ever shot entirely on IMAX Film.

This has never been practical before for several reasons. The cameras are bulky and not suited for every type of shoot, and turning round dailies has always been an issue given the limited number of labs that can process the enormous film. But the chief problem has always been how loud the cameras are. While the previous generation of camera was ‘only’ 25 years old, the design dates back to the 1970s when the thought of using them on a mainstream feature would have been preposterous. Nolan’s titles are infamous for sometimes muffled dialogue, and while IMAX film rattling through the gate in a 50 year-old design is not the sole reason for that (an artistic choice to eschew ADR also contributes), it’s definitely a factor.

30% quieter = 100% use

Hence the new cameras, one of whose headline features is that they are 30% quieter than the previous generation. That’s going to make a huge difference, and means that IMAX film can reliably be used pretty much for every scene as a result.

“We basically just invested millions of dollars to build brand-new film cameras,” commented Bruce Marko, SVP Head of Post Production and Image Capture at IMAX, on a 2024 SMPTE panel at NAB. “They’ve taken longer than we would have liked unfortunately, but that’s because they’re a ground-up redesign of the camera and while it actually looks very similar on the outside, it’s completely rebuilt and redesigned on the inside. What that means is it’s going to be quieter. It’s going to be more stable and it’s got an all carbon fiber body with all the technology in it. Furthermore, functionality is improved throughout the entire camera.”

The core of the unit is still all about capturing and photographing with 65mm 15 perf film (“The movement which is you could say the heart of the camera, is the same movement,” says Marko. “We figured if we try to redo it from the ground up, we’d probably screw it up.”)

A lot else has changed though. There’s a new optical viewfinder designed by Panavision that contains a lot of new tech. This is metadata capable and, combined with the new camera’s connectivity options — Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth— acts as a 4K tap that can squirt footage instantly into the cloud or around a set. It also provides aspect ratio overlays to enable directors and DPs to keep on top of the two different IMAX formats as well as the inevitable conversion to 2:35 for standard screenings. There’s also a 5-inch full color LCD display with updated physical buttons for core functions, remote control, customisable user profiles, and more.

Four cameras are initially being made, and Nolan has all four of them. They will be leased out to other productions once shooting on The Odyssey wraps.

ROI: Return on IMAX

The movie is being shot by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who has collaborated with Nolan previously on Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and Oppenheimer. And if Nolan, and Universal Studios that is backing the film, ever had doubts about the commercial viability of IMAX, the latter title probably dispelled them. Oppenheimer took more than $190 million on IMAX screens worldwide, some 20% of its total gross, and a decent return given the still limited number of IMAX screens worldwide (around 1800 at last count).

Nevertheless, The Odyssey looks to be a bigger film in all departments, and that includes costs. Oppenheimer was a relative minnow at $100 million. The Odyssey is currently budgeted at $250 million so the pressure will be on the worldwide IMAX screens to produce a similar return.

Oppenheimer was also famously boosted by the general return to the cinema that Barbie was also part of, giving us the memorable portmanteau of Barbenheimer. Could the same thing happen again? Current tentpole July ’26 releases alongside The Odyssey include the live action version of Moana and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Modyssey has a nice ring to it, while given the British slang term ‘spod’ means “a person seen as being boring, unattractive, or excessively studious,”, Nolan, IMAX, and Universal Films will all be hoping that no one thinks of Spodyssey as an alternative.

tl;dr

• Christopher Nolan's upcoming film, The Odyssey, will be the first commercial feature shot entirely on IMAX film, using new cameras that are 30% quieter and more efficient than previous models.
• IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond, revealed that Nolan challenged IMAX to develop these new cameras to achieve his vision for the film, which has a budget of $250 million and is slated for release in July 2026.
• The IMAX film format has faced challenges in the past, including the bulkiness and noise of older cameras, but the new generation of cameras promises improved stability and features like a 4K-capable optical viewfinder and enhanced connectivity.
• Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, known for his collaborations with Nolan on films like Interstellar and Dunkirk, will shoot The Odyssey, while IMAX screens are expected to deliver strong returns similar to those of Oppenheimer, which grossed over $190 million globally on IMAX.