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Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Opens to $264 M US Box Office

7/21/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” opened in the United States with $264 million.
$250 million production used 300-pound IMAX cameras on real seas and a Viking ship in Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta and Western Sahara.
The cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus and Zendaya as Athena.
Critics gave the film a 95 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while scholars note major plot changes.

History

Historical Context

Peter Jackson’s 2003 adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1955 novel *The Return of the King*, praised by W. H. Auden and Michael Straight, showed that Tolkien’s work could become a major cinematic event. That precedent encouraged the modern trend of multinational epics, a pattern Christopher Nolan follows with his 2024 film *The Odyssey*, shot in Iceland, Greece and Malta.

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Story summary

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” opened in the United States with $264 million.
$250 million production used 300-pound IMAX cameras on real seas and a Viking ship in Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta and Western Sahara.
The cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus and Zendaya as Athena.
Critics gave the film a 95 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while scholars note major plot changes.

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