Following its massive opening weekend, it has been surprisingly clear that The Odyssey‘s biggest draw for moviegoers isn’t its star-studded cast. So far, Christopher Nolan‘s epic sci-fi movie has already grossed over $264 million at the box office, making it his biggest opening debut to date.
The Odyssey was written and directed by Nolan, based on the Greek poet Homer’s classic poem of the same name. The epic drama stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Samantha Morton, John Leguizamo, and more. It currently has a 95% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its Popcornmeter score is slightly higher at 97%.
Why is Christopher Nolan more influential than The Odyssey cast?
Per Deadline, 51% of moviegoers who saw The Odyssey during its opening weekend weren’t actually motivated by the film’s A-list cast. Unexpectedly, Nolan has been a bigger driving factor for movie fans, who are now treating each of Nolan’s movie releases as a must-see cinematic event. With a $264 million opening, it seems like the Academy Award-winning director has technically become bigger than franchises, as Nolan also garnered a dedicated following over the years.
The Odyssey proves that Nolan already has the power to bring in audiences to theaters, which is an incredible feat for any filmmaker and a win for cinema. Interestingly, Nolan is trending more than some of the movie’s biggest stars, including Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Tom Holland. A huge percentage of moviegoers have become more enthusiastic about Nolan’s directorial projects is that his extraordinary vision and intelligence as a filmmaker reflect in his impressive filmography. Nolan’s commitment to traditional filmmaking is one of the things that moviegoers greatly appreciate about him, especially in this age of artificial intelligence.
