Marvel fans hoping to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the big IMAX screen will need to look elsewhere when the Tom Holland and Zendaya-starrer opens in Indian theatres next month. Sony Pictures has confirmed that the film will skip an IMAX release in the country altogether.

The reason traces back to a scheduling clash with Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, which arrives in cinemas just two weeks before Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Nolan's film was shot entirely on IMAX cameras, and as per the studio's announcement, it has locked in an exclusive IMAX run from July 17 to August 14 across several markets, including India. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, scheduled for release on July 31, falls squarely within that window, leaving it without access to IMAX screens for its opening run.

Sony Pictures addressed the situation directly, stating that while there will be no IMAX release for the Marvel film in India, it will instead be available across premium large-format, or PLF, screens, which the studio is positioning as an equally immersive big-screen option for audiences.

That explanation has not entirely satisfied fans. Several took to social media to express disappointment, with some pointing out that they had planned trips to other cities specifically to catch the film in IMAX, and others questioning why a Spider-Man release would be denied even a limited number of IMAX screenings given the franchise's pull in India. The frustration has been visible across studio social handles since the news broke.

Adding an unusual twist to the situation is the overlap in casting. Tom Holland and Zendaya, who lead Spider-Man: Brand New Day, also feature in The Odyssey, meaning the two actors are effectively competing against their own film for IMAX screen space this summer.

While one fanbase is disappointed, anticipation for The Odyssey shows no signs of slowing down. Advance bookings for its IMAX 70mm screenings reportedly sold out within hours of going live, reflecting the scale of demand Nolan's films tend to generate, particularly in the large-format segment.

The clash also highlights just how packed IMAX's 2026 release calendar already is. The year opened with Mercy on January 23, followed by The Bride! and Project Hail Mary in March, then The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael in April. The summer stretch alone features Mortal Kombat II, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Minions 3 and Moana, before The Odyssey takes over IMAX screens from mid-July. Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana: Part 1 is also lined up for an IMAX run later in the year, adding to an unusually competitive slate for premium-format screen time.

For now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will lean on its PLF release to draw audiences when it opens on July 31, even as the IMAX question continues to be a talking point among fans in the lead-up to the film's debut.

Even with its global theatrical release still a month away, Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated sci-fi epic The Odyssey has triggered an unprecedented box-office stampede in the United Kingdom, obliterating all previous pre-sale records.

The British Film Institute (BFI) IMAX in central London—the UK’s largest cinema screen—confirmed on Wednesday that it sold a staggering 28,000 tickets within the first 24 hours of going live. The opening-day haul raked in £750,000 ($1 million) in gross ticket sales, a historic high for a single venue.

The frenzy has forced the iconic London venue to plan a grueling, round-the-clock screening schedule for its opening weekend. Four prime weekend slots had already sold out a full year in advance, including a highly anticipated special midnight screening that will kick off the non-stop weekend marathons.

Doubling 'Dune' and Quadrupling 'Oppenheimer'

The scale of The Odyssey's box office momentum has caught industry analysts by surprise, leaving previous blockbusters far behind in its wake.

Trade data reveals that the film’s first-day takings at the BFI IMAX more than doubled the previous record set by Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, which collected £366,000 ($490,000) during its first 24 hours on sale.

More remarkably, it nearly quadrupled the initial numbers of Nolan’s own Oscar-winning 2023 biographical drama, Oppenheimer, which brought in £254,000 ($340,000) in the same timeframe.

This British box-office surge mirrors the chaotic ticket rollout witnessed across the Atlantic last year. When Premium Large Format (PLF) tickets debuted in the United States in 2025—also an unprecedented full year ahead of schedule—major ticketing platforms crashed under the sheer volume of traffic, leaving fans stuck in digital queues for over an hour.

The US pre-sales generated a massive $3.4 million from 150,000 tickets within a single day. The scarcity has since fueled a rampant black market, with desperate moviegoers spotting scalper listings on eBay fetching as much as $1,500 per ticket for opening-week IMAX screenings.

A Historic Technical First

Beyond the director's massive cult following, The Odyssey is drawing intense interest from cinephiles due to its technical specifications. Industry insiders confirm it is the first feature film in cinematic history to be shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras, rather than just selecting specific sequences for the expanded format.

Universal Pictures has backed the project with a lavish ensemble cast, locking in top-tier Hollywood talent including Matt Damon, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron.

With the global release locked for July 17, exhibitors are bracing for an extended summer run that could reshape the post-pandemic premium format box office landscape.