AMC CEO Adam Aron has responded to the chaotic rollout of The Odyssey premium ticket sales, apologizing for the long online queues while revealing Christopher Nolan’s epic just delivered the chain’s biggest first-day result for any studio-released movie since 2022.
The catch? The only titles to outsell it on day one over the past four years weren’t studio films at all. They were AMC’s own concert releases from Taylor Swift and BeyoncĂ©.
AMC CEO Apologizes For The Odyssey Ticket Chaos
In a post on X, Aron acknowledged the technical mess that left fans stuck in paused queues, hitting errors, and struggling to complete purchases for premium large-format screenings.
Aron said The Odyssey recorded AMC’s “highest first-day ticket sales for any studio-released movie title since 2022.”
He also apologized to anyone who ran into the long ticketing line on the AMC website and app, while reassuring fans there are still “MILLIONS more available seats” for what he called a likely global phenomenon.
The message worked as both damage control and a flex. AMC had a messy rollout, but Aron made it clear the rush was real.
The Odyssey Trails Only Taylor Swift And Beyoncé At AMC
According to Aron, the only first-day AMC results to top The Odyssey since 2022 came from the company’s own AMC Theatres Distribution music releases: BeyoncĂ©’s Renaissance concert film in 2023, along with the two Taylor Swift theatrical events in 2023 and 2025.
Outside of those concert films, Aron said The Odyssey‘s first-day dollars outpaced the many hundreds of studio-released movies AMC has sold tickets for over the past four years.
It puts Nolan’s adaptation in rare company. The Swift and BeyoncĂ© runs were treated like full-blown cultural events, with concert-style demand and fans racing for the best seats. Now The Odyssey is playing in the same lane, only this time the rush is for IMAX 70mm instead of friendship bracelets.
Nolan Fans Rush IMAX, 70mm, RPX And 4DX Screenings
The record first-day haul follows a rollout that saw AMC briefly pause its online queue as fans rushed limited premium large-format screenings, including IMAX 70mm, IMAX, 70mm and 35mm film, RPX, and 4DX. Many users reported hour-long waits, crashes, and failed checkouts before finally getting through.
You can read our full breakdown of the ticketing chaos in our earlier coverage, and everything else on the film in our complete guide to The Odyssey.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Opens July 17, 2026
The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026. Christopher Nolan writes and directs the mythic action epic, shot around the world using new IMAX film technology, adapting Homer’s story of Odysseus and his long journey home after the Trojan War.
The cast includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Nick E. Tarabay, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, Michael Vlamis, and Iddo Goldberg.
For AMC, the messy launch now comes with a major bragging point. The Odyssey did not just jam up the queue. It gave the theater chain its biggest first-day studio movie ticket haul in years.
