That makes The Odyssey the highest-grossing IMAX release in history. The record was already broken weeks ago, long before the movie reached its current worldwide total.

On August 10, IMAX reported $289 million from the film in less than a month of release. At that point, IMAX screens accounted for more than 26 percent of the movie's total global box office.

The capture format was part of the product

The Odyssey is the first theatrical feature shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema exposed roughly 2.1 million feet of IMAX film during production.

That required more than simply loading existing cameras with film.

IMAX developed The Keighley, a next-generation film camera, alongside a new sound blimp. The latter addresses one of the format's least glamorous technical problems: IMAX film cameras are extremely loud.

Reducing that mechanical noise allowed Nolan to bring the cameras much closer to performers during dialogue scenes while capturing usable production sound.

70mm remained scarce by design

The full IMAX 70mm film presentation was available in only 41 auditoriums worldwide around release. That scarcity did not prevent those locations from becoming a meaningful part of the movie's business.

By August 10, IMAX 70mm locations alone had generated $37.5 million. Strong advance sales and repeated sellouts subsequently led to extended runs in several markets.

Premium projection effectively became a specific version of the product rather than a generic upgrade attached at checkout.

A technically awkward format created measurable demand

Film IMAX is not an efficient production choice. The cameras, stock, processing, projection infrastructure and limited number of compatible theaters make the workflow more demanding than modern digital capture.

Nolan's strategy was to turn those constraints into part of the theatrical proposition.

With more than $457 million generated by IMAX screens, The Odyssey now provides a unusually clear commercial measurement of how valuable that proposition can become when audiences perceive the format as integral to the movie rather than optional.