The Odyssey is whipping up such a frenzy that people are reselling cinema tickets they spent £25 on – for up to £300.
Christopher Nolan’s new film has become such a cultural event, with many wanting to see it at the BFI IMAX – the UK’s largest screen – considering it’s the first film in history to be fully shot in the format.
A new camera was specially created to ensure Nolan could shoot the quiet scenes of dialogue, having been unable to do so with his previous films because the camera in question was too loud.
Those who have been unable to see the film at the BFI IMAX, where screenings are fully booked until September, are now bidding on tickets for hundreds of pounds on online marketplace eBay.
One listing has two tickets for a Sunday evening screening in August listed for £300, which at the time of writing had five bids.
This listing notes they bought tickets for £30 each, which is a 400 percent increase on face value.
The BFI told The Independent that the organisation’s terms of conditions state tickets should not be sold for more than a 20 per cent increase on face value.
“We are aware that some tickets available on resale sites are in violation of these terms and when reported, we investigate these listings and take appropriate action,” a spokesperson said.
They urged people not to buy tickets for the inflated prices, stating that these tickets “may be subject to cancellation”.
A second listing has tickets for £250.30, despite the seller buying tickets for £26 each – a 381 per cent increase on face value prices – with two tickets to an 8.15am screening also listed for £208.70. This listing describes the row J seats as the “perfect view”.
Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem was released on Friday (17 July), and has so far made $652m, putting it on track to become one of the Inception and Interstellar director’s most successful films.
The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his perilous journey back home after the Trojan War, as well as the turmoil faced by his wife (Anne Hathaway) and son (Tom Holland) back in his hometown of Ithaca.
It has been widely praised by critics, with The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey handing the film a five-star review and writing: “As a feat of pure adaptation, Nolan has achieved something I admittedly thought was near impossible. His stamp is all over the film – this is intellectual, brutalist, muscular Hollywood fare – yet it never wavers in its commitment to, and comprehension of, its source text.
“There’s not a single decision here that’s been thoughtlessly made, nor that I imagine Nolan himself couldn’t easily defend, much to the imagined chagrin of certain lawless parts of the internet.”
