Adapted from the Andy Weir novel of the same name, Project Hail Mary has surged at the box office. It surpassed $300 million within a couple of weeks of release, showcasing the allure of a strong story being put to film. The intrigue certainly wasn’t purely spurred by book readers, with word of mouth doing much of the heavy lifting.
People came to see a film that would entertain, have something to say, be coherent, and be creative, and Project Hail Mary ticks all of those boxes as a standalone entry. The next huge entry on the way, which also happens to be an adaptation of written work, is The Odyssey, which you’ll get to see fairly locally in IMAX soon.
A Ready Audience Only Fired Up More
The Odyssey had already whipped up a hype storm. The setting and theme alone command attention. After all, Ancient Greece remains a huge selling point across entertainment media. Even in the bingo at Paddy Power, the Greek pantheon has its place. The Age of the Gods Bingo room is all about infusing Greek deities into the experience.
In the 90-ball game, the primary aim is to dab off lines. However, should you get a full house, you’ll enter the Arena of the Gods, where you get to play an extra pick’em game. Reveal three of the same deities, and you’ll trigger the jackpot prizes for you, the community, or a split between the two.
Throw in the continued appeal of classic Ancient Greek films like Troy and exhibitions at local museums, like the Mediterranean Founding States in the Human History Collection, and there’s a ceaseless interest in the setting. The Odyssey promises to chart one of the most famous of Homer’s poems, infusing myth into an epic on-screen story.
Getting the Full Odyssey Experience Nearby
The success of Project Hail Mary is a good sign for The Odyssey. It showed that people are more than willing to come out for a new story being put to screen and that they still enjoy the theatre experience. A huge selling point of The Odyssey is that it’ll be the first feature fully filmed in IMAX, potentially enhancing the experience further.
Add in the size of the cast, the accessibility of the story, and the setting, and you can expect demand to be high for any and all tickets to see The Odyssey. This is especially true of IMAX screenings. This premier cinematic showing is fairly limited, and made more so by the expected bumper runtime of the film.
Before it arrives on 17 July 2026, it’d be wise to keep an eye on the ticket openings for The Odyssey at your nearest IMAX cinema to get in quickly. From Solihull, you’ve got a few nearby options. Cineworld on Broad Street is 35 minutes away and has IMAX, as does Cineworld in Resorts World, which is only a ten-minute drive away.
Beyond those, you’re looking a fair bit further afield. There’s an IMAX Cineworld down in Cheltenham, which is an hour away. You’ll also find an IMAX screen on the other side of Birmingham at Cineworld Telford, which is also about one hour away by car. Unfortunately, Cineworld Solihull doesn’t have an IMAX screen.
The masses have been warmed up by a superb big-screen experience with Project Hail Mary, only increasing anticipation for the well-known cinematic event of the summer. So, perhaps The Odyssey will be an even greater success than was previously expected. If it sticks the landing as well as Project Hail Mary, it could break records.
Written by Ben Spencer
