‘Odyssey’ causes all-nighters at Georgia theater, bookstore sales increase

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Regal Cinemas at the Mall of Georgia is the only 70mm IMAX theater in the state. The theater has been open for 24 hours Thursday through Monday since the film’s release because of high demand.

In addition to multiple standard screenings each day, the theater also offers several IMAX screenings, including one at 7:30 a.m. daily and one at 3:15 a.m. Thursdays through Mondays. Some IMAX screenings have been booking out weeks in advance.

“I’ve been wanting to see it for some time,” said Serena White from Newnan, who attended a recent sold-out 7:30 a.m. IMAX screening with her friend, Nana Andoh. “I’ve been wanting to ideally see it the way that it’s intended. Any time to see it at was pretty inconvenient, or just no seats available.”

White and Andoh said it was worth waking up early for “The Odyssey” screening.

“As much thought as this film puts into the scenery, I think coming here just for even that little extra little bit of aspect ratio adds more to the experience,” Andoh said.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Not all theatergoers shared the sentiment.

“I was not impressed by the IMAX aspect ratio, by the speakers, by the screen size,” Cooper Lee, who also attended a 7:30 a.m. showing, said. “I just don’t think it added a whole lot for the price of the ticket being so much higher than a normal movie ticket.”

The ticket to view the film in 70mm IMAX is about double what a standard ticket costs.

Lee said his main complaint about the movie was that it took itself too seriously, and he wanted it to get “a little more silly.”

“It felt too real for a story about gods and monsters,” Lee said.

Charles Platter, a professor at the University of Georgia in the classics department, listed several ways where the film deviated from the original epic. He thought the movie was great, but noted that he’s not the target audience.

“The target audience is people who know something about the ‘Odyssey,’ but don’t know very much,” Platter said. “They’re not people who have taught it 50 times like I have.”

Platter believes the story still draws interest 3,000 years after being written because of its sense of adventure and interesting characters.

The draw doesn’t just live in the theater. Resale bookstore Atlanta Vintage Books has bought new copies of the book to meet demand.

“(Classics) is usually a popular section, but it’s been a lot more popular since the movie came out,” Michele Bolgla, manager of Atlanta Vintage Books, said.

Bolgla said customers are likely visiting the classics section because of the film, but could also be wanting to engage in more classic literature like Homer’s “The Iliad” and Dante’s “Inferno.”

“It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, what nationality, what part of the world. It’s human tales,” Bolgla said. “I think that what’s nice is people are picking up physical books about it right now.”

After watching the movie, Brody Jenrette wanted to revisit “The Odyssey,” which he last read in school.

“I picked it up last year,” Jenrette said. “After seeing this, it’s definitely wanting me to seek out more of the classic literature stuff. I would like to see a lot more, a lot more modern takes on stuff like this.”