Disappointed Odyssey fans turned away after Edinburgh IMAX screen breaks before sold-out showing

Fans who flocked to see Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster action film The Odyssey at an IMAX cinema were left disappointed after the screen broke down before the showing.

Cinemagoers arriving for the 7pm showing were told the film was cancelled due to technical problems, and were encouraged to transfer their tickets to another show or get a refund.

Cinema fans queued for refunds after the 7pm IMAX screening was cancelled | Iconic

Later on, some ticket-holders were let into the cinema as technicians scrambled to fix the issue, but were left waiting in the theatre for 40 minutes only to be told the problem had not been resolved.

As frustrated fans filed out of the cinema, one said: “This is absolutely ridiculous.”

Another joked: “I didn’t think much of the script.”

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The three-hour epic, which stars a long roster of A-listers including Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Zendaya, was released last Friday.

Some ticket-holders waiting in the cinema for 40 minutes before being told the screen was cinema | Iconic

It has been a global box office success, taking in £198 million in its opening weekend, and in the UK has broken the record for the highest takings in an opening weekend for a film on Imax screens.

The film is the first ever feature shot entirely with IMAX 70mm film cameras and is created specifically to be viewed in IMAX cinemas.

There are over 50 Imax screens in the UK, but only three - including the BFI in London where screenings are sold out until September - are using the 70mm film projectors.

Cineworld Edinburgh at Fountain Park is the only IMAX screen in Edinburgh.

The film, which was partly shot in Scotland, is an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey, in which the Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, undertakes a perilous journey home after the Trojan War.

Along the way, he battles several mythical monsters, while his wife Penelope fights off suitors at home.

The film broke the BFI (British Film Institute) IMAX record for an opening weekend grossing £219,867 from Friday last week to Sunday.

The venue, located in London’s Waterloo area, has already sold 82,000 tickets for the film grossing £2,169,882, making it the cinema’s third highest grossing film ever already.

Across eight weeks, 173 consecutive Imax 70mm screenings have sold out entirely according to the BFI, with audience members reportedly travelling to London from locations including Singapore, Los Angeles and Toronto to see the film.

A spokesman for Cineworld Edinburgh said: “We apologise to customers affected by yesterday’s cancelled IMAX screenings due to a technical issue. All affected customers have been refunded. The issue has now been resolved and IMAX screenings have resumed as scheduled.”