[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] As director Christopher Nolan’s *The Martian* has surpassed 10 million viewers, special screening formats—including IMAX—are being cited as another key factor in its box office success. With more than one in six moviegoers choosing special screening formats over standard theaters, the average ticket price for *The Martian* ranked among the highest for major blockbusters this year. What’s particularly noteworthy is not just the sheer number of viewers, but the fact that audiences were willing to pay more for these premium tickets.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network on the 6th, “The Odyssey” surpassed 10 million cumulative viewers around 4 p.m. that day. Achieving this milestone just 33 days after its release, it is the second film this year to reach 10 million viewers—following “The Man Who Lives with the King”—and the first foreign film to do so. It is the 10th foreign film in Korean box office history to reach 10 million viewers.
One of the driving forces behind this 10-million milestone was special-format screenings. As of the 5th, out of “The Odyssey’s” cumulative total of 9,768,255 viewers, 1,102,969 were IMAX viewers, accounting for 11.3% of the total. This means that more than one in ten viewers chose to watch the film in IMAX.
When you add the 3.4% of 4D viewers and the 2.8% of Dolby Cinema viewers, the proportion of viewers in special-format theaters rises to 17.5%. This means that roughly one in six viewers chose a special-format theater over a standard one. “The Odyssey” is the first film in cinematic history to be shot entirely—for its entire runtime of approximately three hours—using an IMAX film camera.
In particular, its IMAX box office performance has been record-breaking. By the end of last month, “The Odyssey” had already surpassed “Avatar: The Way of Water” to set a new record for the highest number of IMAX viewers in South Korean history. At that time, the share of IMAX viewers among the total audience was 10.4%, higher than that of *Avatar: The Way of Water* (8.6%), *Avengers: Endgame* (4.2%), and *Avatar: Fire and Ash* (7.8%). The fact that the IMAX share rose to the 11% range even as the total audience approached 10 million demonstrates that demand for special screenings did not end in the early days of the release but continued throughout its long-term box office run.
The popularity of special-format theaters also translated into a high average ticket price (cumulative revenue simply divided by cumulative attendance). The average ticket price per viewer for *Odyssey* was recorded at 11,138 won. This is 1,490 won higher than the 9,648 won recorded by “The Man Who Lives with the King,” the first film this year to reach 10 million viewers. Based on a simple calculation using the 10 million viewer mark, this represents a difference of approximately 15% in the ticket price paid per viewer.

This figure is also high compared to other major box office hits this year. “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” averaged 10,393 won, “The Swarm” averaged 10,436 won, and “Hope” averaged 10,695 won. The only films with a higher average ticket price per viewer than “The Odyssey” were a few blockbusters with strong demand for special screenings, such as “Project Hail Mary” (11,342 won) and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (12,185 won).
This trend is closely linked to changes in the theater industry. According to the Korean Film Council, revenue from special screening theaters in the first half of this year reached 45.7 billion won, a 56.3% increase compared to the same period last year. The share of total theater revenue accounted for by special screening theaters also rose to 7.9%. During the same period, the average ticket price was 10,150 won, up 551 won from the previous year.
As watching movies via online video services (OTT) has become commonplace, movie theaters are shifting toward enhancing “experiences that cannot be replicated at home.” The idea is that even if ticket prices are higher than in standard theaters, audiences are willing to pay the extra cost if theaters offer distinct advantages, such as an immersive screen and sound experience.
The success of *Odyssey*, which drew 10 million viewers, symbolizes this shift—not only because of the 10 million viewers themselves, but also because a significant number of them chose the more expensive special screening formats. Beyond simply “how many people came to the theater,” the new benchmark for box office success is “how much they paid for a particular experience.”