Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is set to release in cinemas this Friday, and the film has already recorded strong advance bookings across India. According to early estimates, the film has collected close to ₹15 crore gross through advance sales. Out of this, the opening day bookings are estimated at around ₹5.75 crore gross, which is approximately ₹4.75 crore nett.
At this stage before release, the film’s advance booking collections are broadly similar to what Oppenheimer had achieved before its release in 2023. This indicates that there is strong interest among moviegoers for Nolan’s latest film.
A large share of the opening day advance bookings has come from IMAX screenings, which account for around two thirds of the total. Other premium formats such as PXL and PCX have also contributed significantly. Christopher Nolan has long been associated with the IMAX format, and several of his films have performed well on premium screens in India.
While the advance booking collections are comparable to Oppenheimer, the number of tickets sold tells a different story. At the PVRINOX cinema chain, The Odyssey had sold around 48,000 tickets at the latest count. In comparison, Oppenheimer had sold around 92,000 tickets at the same stage before release.
The difference is mainly due to higher ticket prices. The average ticket price for The Odyssey is reported to be around ₹750, which is almost double the average ticket price of Oppenheimer. Higher prices have helped increase advance booking revenue, even though fewer tickets have been sold.
In recent years, cinemas have often increased ticket prices for highly anticipated films to maximise collections. However, higher prices can also discourage some audiences from booking tickets early. Whether ticket prices change closer to release remains to be seen.
Despite selling fewer tickets than Oppenheimer at the same stage, The Odyssey is still expected to record a strong opening. The pace of advance bookings has remained steady, and industry estimates suggest the film could collect close to ₹20 crore gross on its opening day. For comparison, Oppenheimer had opened with ₹17.77 crore gross, which was approximately ₹14.58 crore nett, in India.