What Are Moviegoers in Seoul Saying About Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey?

 

What Happened in Seoul?

When The Odyssey opened in South Korea on August 5, something bigger than a new movie release began to unfold in Seoul.

Christopher Nolan's latest film opened at No. 1 at the Korean box office, attracting more than 290,000 moviegoers on its first day. By Sunday, just five days after its release, the film had reached 1.87 million admissions nationwide. It also remained the most heavily pre-booked film in Korea on Monday morning, accounting for 63.5% of ticket presales.

But the numbers tell only part of the story.

In Seoul, much of the excitement has centered around one particular cinema: CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall. The theater's IMAX auditorium, known locally as “Yong-a-mac,” is the largest of Korea's 27 IMAX theaters and the only Korean IMAX screen capable of showing the film in its full 1.43:1 aspect ratio. For a film made entirely with IMAX 70mm cameras, that difference matters to serious moviegoers.

The result has been an unusual rush for seats.

IMAX screenings at Yongsan quickly sold out, and tickets began appearing on Korean secondhand trading platforms at several times their original price. Korean media reported resale prices reaching as high as 120,000 won, while other reports described prices rising to five or six times the original ticket price at the peak of the frenzy.

There is an interesting twist, however.

Although Korean audiences are intensely interested in seeing The Odyssey in IMAX, South Korea does not have an IMAX 70mm film projection theater. The Yongsan auditorium uses digital IMAX laser projection. In fact, there are only 41 IMAX 70mm projection locations in the world, and none are currently in Asia.

That has not stopped Korean moviegoers from searching for the best possible version of the experience.

For many, watching The Odyssey is not simply about seeing another Hollywood blockbuster. It has become an effort to experience the film as a theatrical event — on the biggest screen, in the best format, and alongside a room full of other people.

And that may be the most interesting part of what is happening in Seoul right now.

At a time when streaming services make it possible to watch movies almost anywhere, a large number of people are going out of their way to find the right theater seat for a film they believe was made specifically for the big screen.

For The Odyssey, the movie theater itself has become part of the story.

What Are Korean Moviegoers Saying?

What Korean moviegoers are talking about is not simply whether The Odyssey is a good movie.

They are also talking about where to see it, which screen to choose, which seats are best, and whether the experience is worth traveling for.

Before the film even opened in Korea, movie fans were already competing for seats at CGV Yongsan's IMAX theater in Seoul. When ticket sales opened, some moviegoers reported waiting in an online queue and repeatedly checking for canceled seats. One viewer had even planned a trip from Jeju to Seoul around seeing the film.

For some viewers, seeing The Odyssey in IMAX has become part of the experience itself.

But there is no single opinion.

Some Korean moviegoers believe Yongsan IMAX is clearly the best choice because of its enormous screen and unique aspect ratio. Others say that once an IMAX screen reaches a certain size, the difference is not important enough to justify fighting for a particular theater.

The conversation can become surprisingly specific. Movie fans discuss individual rows and seats, compare different IMAX theaters, and wait for new blocks of tickets to be released. Some even check their cinema apps every day while waiting for their preferred date to open.

There are also viewers who approached the film with Homer already in mind.

One Korean viewer who saw the movie in IMAX in the United States said that they had read The Iliad and The Odyssey as a student and still found themselves completely absorbed by the film. Another Korean moviegoer planned to read Homer's original work before watching the film in Seoul.

Yet even among serious movie fans, opinions about the best theater are not unanimous. Some prefer Yongsan for its screen size and aspect ratio, while others argue that picture quality or sound can be better at other theaters.

In other words, the conversation around The Odyssey in Seoul is about more than the movie itself.

It is also about the experience of going to the movies — choosing the right theater, finding the right seat, comparing formats, traveling across the country, and sharing the experience with other movie fans.

That may be one of the most interesting things to discover from Seoul right now.

The excitement around The Odyssey in Seoul is not simply about whether the movie is good or bad.

For many Korean moviegoers, the experience has become something to plan, compare, and talk about — from choosing the right theater and seat to deciding whether the movie is worth seeing more than once.

And once people actually saw the film, their reactions became just as varied.

“I wanted to experience it on the biggest screen possible.”

For some viewers, the IMAX experience was almost inseparable from the movie itself.

Yongsan IMAX, Seoul's largest IMAX auditorium and the only theater in South Korea capable of showing the film in its full 1.43:1 aspect ratio, became a particularly sought-after destination. Some moviegoers described the experience as something special enough to want to repeat, while tickets for the theater were already difficult to find. One international visitor who saw the film at Yongsan described the experience as something they wished they could see again.

But not everyone agreed that Yongsan was essential.

Some Korean movie fans who had experienced several IMAX theaters said that once a screen reaches a certain size, the difference is not significant enough to insist on one particular theater. For them, a good IMAX experience was enough. Others still preferred Yongsan simply because it offered the largest and most distinctive screen.

That disagreement is part of the story.

Some viewers were surprised by how emotional the movie felt.

Although The Odyssey is being marketed as a massive action epic, some Korean viewers focused less on the battles and spectacle and more on its emotional themes — especially the idea of returning home after years of hardship.

For these viewers, Odysseus's journey was not simply an ancient adventure. It became a story about family, regret, endurance, and the desire to return to the people and place that matter most.

That emotional interpretation gives the film a very different meaning from simply calling it a large-scale Hollywood blockbuster.

Some viewers wanted to know Homer before seeing the movie.

Another interesting difference appeared among Korean audiences: how much preparation they wanted to do.

Some viewers felt that they could enjoy the film without knowing much about Homer's original Odyssey. Others were interested in reading the original epic before watching Nolan's adaptation, hoping that knowing the characters and mythology would make the experience richer.

In other words, there was no single way to prepare for the film.

Some people wanted to walk into the theater knowing nothing.

Others wanted to bring Homer with them.

The visual experience left a strong impression.

Viewers who enjoyed the film often singled out its scale, landscapes, sound, and cinematography.

The attraction was not simply seeing a famous story on screen. It was the feeling of being surrounded by the world of the story — the sea, the battles, the ancient landscapes, and the long journey home.

That helps explain why the format of the screening became such a major part of the conversation in Seoul.

For some viewers, The Odyssey was not something to watch casually on a screen at home. It was something to experience in a theater.

But not everyone thought it was Nolan's masterpiece.

There were also more reserved reactions.

Some viewers praised the craftsmanship and acknowledged that the film was well made, but did not consider it one of Christopher Nolan's greatest films. For these moviegoers, The Odyssey was a strong and entertaining film, but not necessarily another Interstellar, Inception, or The Dark Knight.

That contrast is important.

The conversation in Seoul is not simply a wave of praise. There are enthusiastic fans, people who are impressed but unconvinced that it is Nolan's best work, viewers who care deeply about the IMAX experience, and others who are perfectly happy watching it in a different theater.

Perhaps that is what makes the reaction interesting.

A movie that was released thousands of years after the story it is based on was first told has become a very modern conversation in Seoul — about cinema, technology, storytelling, theaters, seats, expectations, and the simple question of whether a movie is worth leaving home to experience.

For a film about a long journey home, perhaps there is something fitting about that.

A Movie, a Theater, and a Moment in Seoul

As of August 10, 2026, The Odyssey is still very much part of the conversation in Seoul.

The film has already attracted 1,874,731 moviegoers in South Korea, and it accounted for 63.5 percent of ticket presales on Monday morning. But the numbers alone do not explain why the film has become such a talking point.

What we found was something more interesting.

People in Seoul were not simply deciding whether they wanted to see Christopher Nolan's latest film. They were discussing which theater to visit, which IMAX screen to choose, which seats were worth waiting for, whether the original story should be read first, and whether the film deserved to be called one of Nolan's best.

Some viewers were deeply moved by the story of a man trying to find his way home. Others were most impressed by the scale of the images and the sound. Some wanted the biggest screen possible, while others felt that a good theater was enough. And some admired the film without considering it Nolan's masterpiece.

There was no single Korean reaction to The Odyssey.

Perhaps that is what makes the phenomenon worth looking at.

A movie based on an ancient epic has become a very modern experience in Seoul — one shaped by online ticket queues, IMAX screens, seat recommendations, social media conversations, and the desire to share a memorable theatrical experience with other people.

For a few weeks, at least, The Odyssey has become more than a movie playing in Seoul.

It has become something people are talking about, planning around, comparing, and experiencing together.

And that is what we wanted to capture here at Seoul, Right Now — not simply what is happening in Seoul, but how people in Seoul are experiencing it.

August 10, 2026