Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey could have been titled The Odyssey Featuring IMAX. Universal spent months reminding audiences that Nolan shot the movie entirely with IMAX film cameras, a first for a narrative feature. Tickets for IMAX 70mm screenings went on sale a year before the movie opened.
Audiences got the message. Half of the film’s North American opening-weekend audience chose a premium large format (PLF), including 23% who chose IMAX. The Odyssey generated $81.4 million globally in IMAX (and $264.1 million overall).
Premium formats including IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX and ScreenX are capturing a growing share of theatrical spending by giving audiences something increasingly difficult for a standard movie screen to offer: a compelling reason to leave the living room.
‘The Odyssey’ Has Company
A number of 2026’s biggest movies succeeded with help from premium screens, across genres that extend well beyond the action blockbusters traditionally associated with the format.
IMAX is taking a disproportionately large share of theatrical spending relative to the number of screens it operates, while expanding its footprint and attracting movies marketed specifically around the format. Its share of domestic box office has reached about 5.2%,compared with roughly 3.2% before the pandemic, despite IMAX representing only a small fraction of movie screens. ScreenX and 4DX posted a record first half of 2026, generating a combined $70 million domestically, up 26% from the same period in 2025. ScreenX domestic box office increased 55%.
Why Audiences Are Paying More
Moviegoers have become more selective about going to theaters, but they are increasingly willing to pay more when a major film promises an experience they cannot get at home. That willingness extends to the all-important Gen Z demographic, which rewards experience-based shared moments. And Hollywood is getting savvier about courting audiences by promoting PLFs.
Moviegoing Has Become More Event-Driven
Streaming has made ordinary movie consumption extraordinarily convenient, which raises the bar for getting people into theaters. IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX and other PLFs turn a theatrical release into more of an occasion, particularly for spectacle-driven films.
IMAX offers enormous screens and specialized projection. Dolby Cinema combines Dolby Vision projection with Dolby Atmos sound. ScreenX extends images onto a theater’s side walls, while 4DX adds moving seats and environmental effects.
Audiences pay more for those experiences, giving exhibitors a way to generate more revenue from each ticket sold. Premium-format tickets accounted for 15.6% of North American box office in 2024, up from 10.3% in 2019.
Hollywood Has Gotten Better at Marketing the Theatrical Experience
Movies are increasingly marketed around IMAX cameras, expanded aspect ratios, 70mm presentations, Dolby sound and other technical attributes. Nolan’s The Odyssey, the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film, demonstrates how the format itself can become part of the reason to buy a ticket.
“Filmed for IMAX,” “Experience it in Dolby Cinema” and similar messaging give audiences a specific reason not to wait for streaming. The theater is selling experiences Netflix or a home television cannot reproduce, including scale, immersive sound and a communal opening-weekend experience.
As a result, IMAX has evolved from something printed next to a showtime into a recognizable consumer brand. Moviegoers seek out specific presentations, compare IMAX 70mm with digital IMAX and Dolby Cinema, and sometimes travel to particular theaters. With The Odyssey, some IMAX 70mm locations sold out midnight and 3 a.m. screenings, a sign that the presentation format itself can create demand.
Strong demand also encourages theaters to invest in more premium screens. Exhibitors are installing and upgrading IMAX and proprietary PLFs, giving studios more incentive to make movies optimized for those screens. More PLF-friendly movies, in turn, give audiences more reasons to pay for premium tickets.
Premium Screens Have More Movies Coming
Studios have plenty of opportunities to keep the momentum going. The remaining 2026 IMAX slate includes The Dog Stars, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Godzilla Minus Zero and Dune: Part Three, which IMAX is already promoting in 70mm.
The 2027 pipeline includes Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, The Legend of Zelda, Star Wars: Starfighter, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, The Batman Part II, Avengers: Secret Wars and Frozen 3, among other major releases. Studios are also creating new ways to sell the premium experience. Marvel has introduced Infinity Vision, with tickets for Avengers: Doomsday being sold specifically for Infinity Vision certified theaters.
Hollywood has spent years trying to make moviegoing feel like an event again. In 2026, the screen itself is increasingly helping make that happen.
