Sacramento's Esquire among few U.S. theaters showing "The Odyssey" in 70mm IMAX

There are 5,000 movie theaters across the United States, but only a handful are capable of showing director Christopher Nolan's new film "The Odyssey," starring Matt Damon, in its original 70mm IMAX format. One of those silver screens is in Sacramento.

Sold-out crowds packed downtown Sacramento's Esquire IMAX theater to see the new film.

"The amount of picture that can actually fit in the actual frame is amazing," said IMAX ticketholder Gabe Kanae.

Kanae drove two hours from Reno to see the film on Sacramento's six-story-tall IMAX screen.

"It was a long drive, but it was definitely worth it," he said.

Esquire IMAX theater director Doug Link said the 15/70mm film allows viewers to see "a true image up on screen."

Link says "The Odyssey" is the first full-length film to be shot entirely on 70mm film.

"We put the first four shows for sale last July and those sold out in 10 minutes," he said.

Today, most movies come on a computer hard drive and are used with a laser projector.

But it takes two six-foot wide reels to play back the large-format IMAX film, which weighs more than 700 pounds and, if unspooled, would be 11 miles long.

Chilled water must be pumped into the projector to prevent the 15,000-watt xenon bulb from overheating.

"There are people that like to come up to our viewing gallery and look through the window and get to see the projector and all the moving parts," Link said.

It's been three years since this projector at Esquire IMAX was last used for another Nolan film, "Oppenheimer," which went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Many film fans say it's worth seeing the movie in a true IMAX theater, even if it's an odyssey to find one.

The Esquire IMAX is playing The Odyssey four times a day, but several showings throughout this weekend are also sold out.