There is a loud online movement pushing back against Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, downvoting its trailers and spamming social media comments in threads about the film. It’s based on a wide range of alleged “issues” from the casting of a transgender actor, the race of Helen of Troy, the modern dialogue, even the look of the film’s armor. Now, many in that group believe that all that anger and a supposed upcoming boycott will turn The Odyssey into a flop.
History…does not support that conclusion. Christopher Nolan has become a serious box-office draw over the past two decades, and we only need to look to the past to see that The Odyssey is very likely to be a big hit, particularly in the wake of unequivocally glowing reports about its quality. Here’s Nolan’s history at the global box office:
- Oppenheimer (2023) – $960 million
- Tenet (2020) – $365 million
- Dunkirk (2017) – $530 million
- Interstellar (2014) – $731 million
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – $1.08 billion
- Inception (2012) – $839 million
- The Dark Knight (2008) – $1.02 billion
- The Prestige (2006) – $109 million
- Batman Begins (2005) – $375 million
- Insomnia (2002) – $113 million
- Memento (2000) – $40 million
- Following (1998) – $240K
So, Nolan has only made one movie that has earned less than $500 million since 2006, and that was the questionably received, high-concept Tenet, his lowest-scoring feature with critics and audiences. Adjusted for inflation, even that is $472 million today. Hitting the “lower” era, starting with The Prestige, that $109 million haul was on a $40 million budget.
The Odyssey’s production budget is reportedly $250 million. Even doubling that for marketing and distribution costs, it’s $500 million, which is a generous stretch. The Odyssey is predicted to make between $80 and $132 million domestically in its opening weekend, depending on estimates, a range that may prove higher than Oppenheimer, and perhaps $200 million globally. However, we have seen a number of projection underestimations at the box office as of late, and this is before the universally glowing early critic reviews of The Odyssey went out. Word of mouth will be crucial to its long-term success. The Odyssey, of course, is a more well-known tale than Nolan’s original productions like Tenet, Interstellar, Inception and so on, which may help it. It is also coming on the back of Nolan’s last film, Oppenheimer, winning 7 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan.
It is extremely unlikely that The Odyssey will come close to flopping, given all this. This idea that online anger among select groups will translate into some huge box-office tanking feels more like wishful thinking, and of course, many of those who say they’ll boycott the film will…end up seeing it anyway. We’ll find out more on July 17.
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