Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opened in theaters on July 17, 2026, earning a near-perfect 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming the highest-rated film of his career . The $250 million adaptation of Homer’s epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and marks the first feature shot entirely with IMAX film cameras .
The film reunites Nolan with Universal Pictures following their Oscar-winning collaboration on Oppenheimer. Damon leads a massive ensemble cast that includes Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous, and Lupita Nyong’o in a dual role as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra . Charlize Theron plays Calypso, Samantha Morton portrays Circe, and John Leguizamo appears as the loyal servant Eumaeus .
Nolan’s decision to shoot entirely on IMAX cameras represents a technical milestone in cinema history. The production exposed approximately 2.1 million feet of 70mm film during a 91-day shoot across six countries . New lightweight IMAX cameras equipped with sound-muffling blimps weighing nearly 300 pounds were developed specifically to enable dialogue scenes . Nolan told the BFI the format is “the closest imaging format to the way the eye sees that’s ever been devised” .
The film’s visual approach favored practical effects over digital shortcuts. Benny Safdie, who plays Agamemnon, recalled arriving on set in Essaouira, Morocco, to find thousands of real extras and the Trojan Horse half-sunk in sand as the tide came in . Nolan confirmed that even a quiet moment featuring dolphins swimming beside Odysseus’s boat was captured practically, not through CGI .
Emily Wilson, the classicist whose 2017 translation of The Odyssey Nolan cited as an influence, published a scathing review in the London Review of Books titled “An Uncomplicated Man.” She wrote that she “would be ashamed to have written any part of this script” and criticized the film for lacking “psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth” . Wilson compared its narrative depth to “an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display” .Christopher Nolan Quick Bio
Nolan addressed pre-release backlash in an interview with The Telegraph, saying conversations before people see a film are “always irrelevant” because “no one having them knows what the film actually is yet” . He compared the situation to his experience with the Dark Knight trilogy, noting that early skepticism about Heath Ledger’s casting as the Joker ultimately proved unfounded .
The controversy extended beyond critical reception. Elon Musk and other commentators attacked the casting of Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, calling it “woke” and accusing Nolan of “desecrating” Homer . Nyong’o responded to Elle magazine by stating, “Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defence” . Scholars noted that Homer’s poems are mythological texts, not historical records, and that Helen had been played by Black actresses including Eartha Kitt in a 1950 stage production .
A separate controversy emerged over filming locations. Scenes were shot in Dakhla, Western Sahara, a territory controlled by Morocco but classified by the United Nations as non-self-governing . The Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) called for a boycott, arguing that filming without Sahrawi consent legitimized Moroccan occupation . FiSahara executive director María Carrión told The Observer the production amounted to “plunder” and “extractive film-making” . Neither Nolan nor Universal publicly responded to the campaign.
Commercially, the film proved a juggernaut. It grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide**, with **$1.014 billion from international markets alone . The IMAX box office revenue reached $449 million**, setting an all-time record for the format . It became **Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film ever**, surpassing **Jurassic World**, and the first non-sequel, non-remake Hollywood film to cross **$1 billion internationally since Avatar in 2009 .
The opening weekend brought in **$264.1 million globally**, the biggest debut of Nolan’s career . The film performed strongly in the **UK and Ireland** ($109.2 million), China ($92.7 million), **France** ($84.6 million), South Korea ($74 million), and **Italy** ($63.2 million) . Universal became the first studio to surpass $4 billion in global revenue for the year, partly driven by the film’s success .
Wilson later expressed one regret about her review, posting on Bluesky that she framed a paragraph about the actors of color badly, though she maintained the film “largely wastes its strong cast” . She also acknowledged the film’s positive cultural impact, writing that translations of The Odyssey were “flying off the shelves” and that audiences were returning to cinemas .
For Nolan, the film represents his 13th feature and his first since winning the Academy Award for Best Director for Oppenheimer in 2024 . He co-produced with his longtime collaborator and wife, Emma Thomas . The director described the project as honoring Homer’s text by interpreting it “in the strongest way you personally can,” adding that “that’s what adaptation is” .
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a 2026 IMAX adaptation of Homer’s epic poem, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus and released by Universal Pictures on July 17, 2026.
How did Christopher Nolan shoot The Odyssey, and why was it a technical milestone?
Nolan shot the entire film on IMAX 70mm cameras, making it the first feature in cinema history to do so . The production used over 2.1 million feet of film across a 91-day shoot . IMAX developed new, quieter cameras and a sound-muffling “blimp” weighing nearly 300 pounds so dialogue scenes could be recorded on set .
Who stars in the cast of The Odyssey?
Matt Damon leads as Odysseus, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus . The ensemble includes Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as the antagonist Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Charlize Theron as Calypso, and Samantha Morton as Circe .
What did critics say about The Odyssey?
Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score and 92% positive on Metacritic . The Telegraph called it the “film of the year,” while Metro described it as “a watershed moment for filmmaking” . Some critics noted difficulty hearing dialogue and questioned the use of contemporary language .
Why was The Odyssey controversial?
The film faced online backlash over the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Sinon, with commentators including Elon Musk calling it “woke” . Filming in Western Sahara also drew criticism from the Sahara International Film Festival, which argued it legitimized Moroccan control of the disputed territory . Nyong’o responded: “Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defence” .
How much money did The Odyssey make at the box office?
The film grossed over $1.55 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie of Nolan’s career . IMAX revenue alone reached $449 million, a record for the format . The opening weekend brought in $264 million globally, and it became Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film ever .
