IMAX’S EPIC MOMENT

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN DARED IMAX TO MAKE A CAMERA QUIET ENOUGH TO BE USED FOR A WHOLE FEATURE FILM. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

- BY JOHN PAVLUS

THE SIX-MINUTE PROLOGUE TO THE ODYSSEY IS A physical experience, especially when seen from director Christopher Nolan’s preferred spot. That’s the middle row of AMC’s IMAX theater at Universal CityWalk in Hollywood, where Nolan has been reviewing footage in early April as he finishes postproduction. With the 58-by-79-foot screen fully enveloping a viewer's peripheral vision, waves crash and arrows thud with spine-rattling force.

The Odyssey, which Universal Pictures is releasing in theaters July 17, is the first feature film in which every scene is entirely shot with IMAX cameras—from Matt Damon’s Odysseus huddling inside the iconic Trojan horse to the iron-helmeted Greeks ambushing their foes. Nolan captured many of the moments using a new camera named “the Keighley,” which was designed to handle eye-widening spectacle and intimate dialogue with equal vividness. “We were able to get a lot of extremely intense, emotional scenes with this imaging capability, [which] we've never been able to do before,” says Nolan.

The quietest and most versatile camera IMAX has ever created, the Keighley (named after IMAX “chief quality guru” Patricia Keighley and her husband, David, IMAX’s longtime chief quality officer, who died last year) is designed to send Hollywood a message: This format isn’t just for stunts and docs anymore. IMAX is betting that the Keighley will unlock the appeal, and profits, of large-format film for a new generation of directors.

2025 was IMAX’s biggest year ever. Box-office revenue has generally lagged since the pandemic, but IMAX screenings generated a record $1.28 billion in ticket sales due to a varied output (Weapons, F1: The Movie, Zootopia 2), international films released locally (China’s Ne Zha 2), and zeitgeist-seizing fare like