Marvel ran a wild marketing stunts for a movie a few months ago, holding an all-day YouTube livestream where it slowly revealed cast members for Avengers: Doomsday, the highly anticipated Avengers movie that will kick off the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga. Marvel revealed dozens of names, and millions of people tuned in on YouTube and social media to watch the reveal. It was a brilliant marketing tricks for a movie that’s guaranteed to make a billion dollars at the box office.
It also served another purpose. By revealing the names of almost 30 actors, Marvel cut off the inevitable cast leaks before they could make their way online. Now, fast-forward to July, and we are witnessing an even more impressive marketing stunt for another 2026 movie that’s sure to make a lot of money at the box office. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will premiere on July 17, 2026, but Universal and studio partners opened ticket presales a year in advance.
The crazy part about The Odyssey presales is that Universal has yet to release the film’s first teaser trailer online. You can see it in theaters, where it started playing ahead of Jurassic World Rebirth. The even crazier part? Tickets for The Odyssey actually sold out.
I said ahead of Nolan’s Oppenheimer that I wasn’t interested in that particular story, but I would watch it in theaters nonetheless. Nolan’s pedigree won me over. I’ll see any of his movies. I don’t need to want to see that particular story told or even see a trailer.
With The Odyssey, I’m actually excited to see Nolan’s version of this epic Greek tale. It’s a monster project for any director, and I’m especially thrilled to see what Nolan has done with it. My interest was piqued well before we learned the name of Nolan’s next project. As a reminder, the cast of Nolan’s next movie began leaking before the film’s title was revealed. I knew since then I would watch it first in a theater. But I never thought about buying a ticket for the premiere a year out.
As The Hollywood Reporter points out, this is the first time in history that movie tickets have gone on sale this early. For now, less than 30 theaters have started taking presales for the The Odyssey. They’re all IMAX screenings, including 16 theaters in the U.S., six in Canada, two in the UK, one in Australia, and one in Czechia. More will follow, as more locations get 70mm projection equipment.
Even though people are posting on social media screenshots showing sold-out theaters for next year’s The Odyssey premiere, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a seat at your local multiplex when the movie actually arrives. They won’t all be IMAX, however.
IMAX is how many people want to watch The Odyssey, as Nolan shot the entire film in IMAX with special cameras that IMAX customized for the director. It’s probably why IMAX auditoriums are selling out twelve months before the movie hits theaters.
What about the first trailer?
The Odyssey is still filming, so it’s unusual to have a trailer out this early. However, Universal has only released a teaser in theaters. It’s not officially available online on YouTube and other social media apps where the studio would promote its newest projects. There’s plenty of time for a big marketing push, and I expect a major campaign next summer ahead of the film’s premiere.
Leaked versions of the trailer have shown us that The Odyssey trailer isn’t very revealing. It features a scene with Tom Holland as Odysseus’s son Telemachus talking to Jon Bernthal’s mysterious character. The trailer also shows a scene that appears to feature Matt Damon drifting at sea. Damon plays Odysseus, the titular character of the story, which is essentially a 10-year adventure showing the various challenges that prevented him from returning home after the Trojan War.
Damon, Holland, and Bernthal aside, The Odyssey has an impressive supporting cast. Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Elliot Page, John Leguizamo, and Mia Goth star in the massive project.
