A new trial in The Odyssey: Insects in the IMAX theatre

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

Events Cinema has apologised after moviegoers claimed to have seen insects inside the IMAX auditorium in Auckland.

The company confirmed the issue had been identified and had implemented measures to resolve it.

The cinema has been showing the blockbuster film The Odyssey for the past week.

A cinema chain has apologised after moviegoers claimed to have seen insects inside one of its Auckland theatres.

Multiple people have said on social media that the bugs were noticeable inside the Events Cinema IMAX auditorium on Queen St, which has been showing screenings of the blockbuster film The Odyssey for the past week.

One person said they had seen an insect “crawling all over the projector”, while another said they saw a “fly” on the screen on Friday night and were amazed that “that level of light output doesn’t fry it”.

Events Cinema, which operates the IMAX on Queen St, told Stuff on Tuesday that “the issue has been identified” and that the cinema had “implemented measures to resolve it”.

“The comfort and experience of our customers is always our priority, and we appreciate all customer feedback,” a spokesperson said.

In an email to a customer that was shared on social media, Events Cinema apologised for the experience.

“We completely understand how frustrating it is to encounter insects during a movie, and please know it’s just as frustrating for us,” the email said.

“We’ve placed insect repellent in our IMAX auditorium and projector box and have regular visits from professional fumigation services as part of our efforts to manage the issue.”

In the email, Events Cinema said the cause appeared to be “related to the building”, and that they had been doing “everything we can within our control to minimise the issue”.

“As tenants rather than the building owners, we’ve had ongoing discussions with the landlord about the problem and the need for further action,” they said.

“Please be assured that we are continuing to work on this and are committed to providing the best possible cinema experience for our guests,” they said.

The IMAX cinema is based at the Sky World events complex and is one of only two IMAX cinemas operating in New Zealand, with the other being in Lower Hutt.

Stuff has approached Sky World’s landlord JNJ Holdings for comment.