Imax China is set to devote nearly all of its roughly 800-screen network to Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" when it opens in mainland China on 14 August, with CEO Daniel Manwaring telling Variety that audience anticipation "is going to be enormous." Nolan and star Matt Damon will attend a red carpet event in Beijing on 30 July, marking the first such occasion held for a commercial film at the China National Film Museum, a venue that previously hosted "Avatar's" Chinese launch.

Preview screenings begin on 1 and 2 August in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen ahead of the wide release, and early results elsewhere are strong, with Imax's box office share already exceeding 30% in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. According to ticketing platform Maoyan Pro, "want to see" registrations for the film had passed 252,000 by 24 July, the highest of any upcoming imported title, though still behind "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (810,000) and local hit "Kung Fu Soccer" (649,000); mainland pre-sales have yet to open.