[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] “I failed again.”
Mr. A, an office worker in his 30s living in Seoul, opened the CGV app on the morning of the 20th and immediately let out a sigh. He had once again failed to secure tickets for the IMAX screening of *The Odyssey* at the Yongsan I’Park Mall. Having initially missed the booking window that ran through the 25th, Mr. A tried again upon hearing that additional tickets would be available until the 30th—but seats for his desired dates were already sold out. It was difficult to find any available seats, from the 7:30 a.m. early morning showing all the way through to the late-night screenings past midnight.

The so-called “Yong-A-Mac” ticket war surrounding director Christopher Nolan’s “The Martian” shows no signs of ending. After tickets originally scheduled through the 25th sold out early, CGV extended the screening schedule through the 30th and opened additional ticket sales at 5:00 p.m. on the 19th. However, as soon as the booking window opened, audiences rushed in, and seats sold out quickly. This situation—where tickets remain hard to come by even when additional seats are released—continues to repeat itself.
The reason audiences are flocking specifically to Yongsan is clear. The IMAX theater at Yongsan I’Park Mall is the only venue in South Korea where viewers can watch “The Odyssey”—filmed by director Nolan on full IMAX 70mm film—in a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. It fully reproduces the top and bottom portions of the screen that cannot be seen in standard theaters. Combined with the fan belief that “Nolan’s films must be seen in IMAX” and the rarity of being the only such theater in the country, demand has surged.
Even the film’s lengthy runtime—nearly three hours—has not deterred audiences. The IMAX theater at Yongsan I’Park Mall screens *The Odyssey* approximately six times a day, with the first showing starting around 7:30 a.m. and the last showing scheduled for around 1:00 a.m. Audiences flock to even the late-night screenings, where the movie ends close to 4:00 a.m. It is unusual for screenings—even those at such extreme times—to sell out as the peak summer vacation and school break season is coming to an end.

The “Odyssey” craze demonstrates that the criteria for movie-going are shifting from “what to watch” to “where and how to watch it.” Even for the same movie, as demand grows to experience it through IMAX’s aspect ratio and overwhelming scale, the theater itself has effectively become a form of entertainment. This trend is particularly pronounced in films by directors—such as Nolan—who produce their movies with the IMAX format in mind.
The problem is that the scarcity of tickets is fueling a black market. There have even been cases where IMAX tickets, which normally cost around 20,000 won each, are being sold for as much as 100,000 won on secondhand trading platforms and social media. This means viewers must pay about five times the face value to secure their desired showtime and seats.
Consequently, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has stepped in to address the issue. KOFIC recently began accepting reports regarding scalping in special theaters, including IMAX theaters. Reports can be filed not only for posts on secondhand trading platforms or social media selling tickets at inflated prices but also for cases of bulk ticket purchases suspected of using macros (automated input programs).