After recent box office successes and a growing appreciation for the Christopher Nolan film, there’s no excuse for Interstellar to not receive an IMAX re-release in 2024. Though shockingly not nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, Christopher Nolan’s 2014 epic sci-fi movie Interstellar remains one of his greatest cinematic achievements, and frequently ranks high among Nolan’s best movies. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway as astronauts searching for a new planet for humankind to inhabit, Interstellar continues to be widely praised for its revolutionary visuals and cinematography, emotional storytelling and acting performances, haunting score, and direction by Nolan.
Ten years later, Interstellar remains one of the most popular and successful original sci-fi movies of the 21st century. During its initial 2014 run, Interstellar earned over $681 million worldwide at the box office, with smaller re-releases outside the US later bringing its lifetime total to $739.1 million (via Box Office Mojo). Outside of a one-night special release in 2015, Interstellar has shockingly yet to receive a wide theatrical re-release in the United States, not to mention one in IMAX. However, given its anniversary and new IMAX box office records being smashed in 2023 and 2024, now is the perfect time for an Interstellar re-release.
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Dune 2 & Oppenheimer’s IMAX Box Office Success Means Interstellar Needs A 10th Anniversary Re-Release
Despite being more expensive than tickets to a standard showing, the importance of seeing visually striking movies better suited for the format in IMAX seems to have resonated more greatly with audiences as of late. Christopher Nolan’s IMAX-filmed 2023 movie Oppenheimer broke several box office records, with over $184 million of its $958 million worldwide box office being accounted for by IMAX earnings. Comparatively, 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which grossed over $2.3 billion, earned more than $253 million in IMAX after only one month in theaters. According to Collider, Oppenheimer became the third-highest-grossing IMAX movie in the US after the Star Wars and Avatar franchises.
After Nolan’s recent success with Oppenheimer, the 2024 box office got a massive boost with the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, which similarly smashed box office records upon its debut. The box office totals for Dune 2’s opening weekend revealed IMAX accounted for over $32 million of its $182.5 million global earnings, surpassing the opening weekend IMAX total for Avatar: The Way of Water of $31.8 million (via Deadline). Though IMAX screens are more limited and the ticket prices are higher, the box office receipts prove that audiences are clearly more inclined to watch movies in this format when the sound, visuals, and immersive quality of a film warrant it.
With directors like Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan preaching the power of IMAX filmmaking and screenings, the premium prices are proving to be worth it to audiences to see such visually striking films in their intended format. Even before Oppenheimer and Dune 2’s releases, Interstellar was noted as a film deserving of a similar IMAX release due to its acclaimed visuals, sound, and extended sequences shot on IMAX film. The Christopher Nolan movie already earned over $100 million globally from IMAX screens back in 2014, but with audiences seemingly being more open than ever to pay the premium fee for such films, a 2024 IMAX re-release could likely more than double that gross.
Interstellar & Christopher Nolan’s Growing Popularity Over The Last Decade Makes It Perfect For A Re-Release
Interstellar celebrates its 10th anniversary in November 2024, and the movie is still managing to find new audiences with younger generations, further appreciation for its filmmaking achievements, and more attention after Nolan’s movie successes like Tenet and Oppenheimer. Especially with Nolan enjoying substantial mainstream and industry popularity in 2023 and 2024 after Oppenheimer, Interstellar’s popularity continues to grow as it joins the conversation of the filmmaker’s best movies. With Nolan also being highly likely to win Best Director and Best Picture for Oppenheimer at the 2024 Oscars, re-releasing Interstellar in 2024 would fittingly celebrate his contributions to the art of filmmaking and his long road to Academy Awards recognition.
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Interstellar Getting An IMAX Re-Release Could Give Christopher Nolan A Huge Box Office Achievement
If Interstellar receives an IMAX re-release in 2024, Christopher Nolan could add another incredible box office achievement to his resume. Since Oppenheimer was just short of the benchmark with $958 million, an Interstellar re-release could be what earns the director his first $1 billion movie outside his Batman movies. The Dark Knight earned over $1 billion while Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises made $1.09 billion worldwide, so only his superhero outings have achieved that box office feat. However, if granted a global re-release, Interstellar could reasonably rake in over $261 million, which would bring the movie to $1 billion a decade after its original run.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Collider, Deadline
Interstellar
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- November 7, 2014
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures , Paramount Pictures
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan , Jonathan Nolan
- Cast
- Anne Hathaway , Matthew McConaughey , Jessica Chastain , Ellen Burstyn , Michael Caine , Bill Irwin
- Runtime
- 2h 49m
- Budget
- 165 million
