All articles tagged with #nolan
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing R-rated film ever, reaching about $1.352 billion globally and surpassing Deadpool & Wolverine; it opened with a $123.5 million domestic debut and has risen to Nolan's top-grossing title, ahead of The Dark Knight Rises.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will roll out on more than 20,000 screens in mainland China, including about 90% of the country’s nearly 800 IMAX locations, with presales around RMB39.5 million and previews totaling RMB91 million ahead of its Aug. 14 wide release, driven by a near-total Imax commitment and strong box-office expectations.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is aiming for the biggest second weekend in U.S. box-office history with a forecast of roughly $145–$160 million, potentially surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame. The film’s strong word-of-mouth (98% on Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter) and expanding IMAX footprint boost its momentum, and it has already crossed $1.1 billion worldwide this year. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is projected to finish second with about $30–$45 million, on pace to overtake The Dark Knight Rises domestically and reach $1 billion globally. Several new releases will fill out the top five this weekend.
Emily Wilson’s second Atlantic essay reaffirms her critique of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, arguing the film is visually stunning but emotionally empty and ethically muddled, notably criticizing its treatment of technology and the decision to shoot in Western Sahara without consent. The piece builds on her earlier LRB critique, tightening arguments rather than doubling down on controversy. The round-up around it also notes Spider-Man: Brand New Day becoming the year’s top-grossing film and crossing $1 billion globally in seven days, plus other industry updates like a John Wilson documentary teaser and Sony’s optimistic cinema outlook.
The Odyssey’s 70mm engagement at Los Angeles’ Alex Theatre has been extended through August 20, 2026, after the venue upgraded to 70mm projection and due to strong demand. It marks the theatre’s first first-run film since 1991’s Terminator 2, and the movie is nearing $1 billion worldwide after three weekends.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has sparked a nationwide revival of interest in Homer’s epic, driving a dramatic jump in US sales across editions, eye-catching displays in bookstores, and long waiting lists at libraries. Emily Wilson’s translation leads the pack, with Circe and other myth retellings gaining traction as readers—especially younger ones—engage with the classic after seeing the film. Experts expect the surge to last a couple of months before normalizing.
London’s BFI Imax, the UK’s largest screen, released another batch of tickets for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and they sold out in under 30 minutes amid surging demand and record presales that have helped push the film toward global box-office highs.
Emily Wilson’s critical takedown of Nolan’s The Odyssey—lauding its grandiosity but faulting its superficiality and racially coded casting—sparked Joyce Carol Oates to publicly pan Wilson on X, accusing her tone of dismissal and “haughty superiority” as the online discourse over the film’s adaptation continues.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly defended Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey against Emily Wilson’s London Review of Books critique, denouncing Wilson’s rhetoric as crude and defending Nolan’s take on Homer; Wilson had argued the film lacks depth and character development, while Nolan has said Wilson’s Iliad translation influenced him. The spat follows Wilson’s praise from Nolan and comes as the film has grossed about $683 million on a $250 million budget amid broad attention.
Joyce Carol Oates publicly defends Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey against critic Emily Wilson and other detractors, arguing that reimagining Homer through a modern lens is legitimate and that translations are subjective. She critiques Wilson’s dismissive stance, praises Nolan’s approach for exploring conscience over pride, and notes that even the best Odyssey translations (like Mendelsohn’s) would still invite debate if used in film. Oates also recommends both Nolan’s adaptation and the Coppola-produced 1997 miniseries as distinct yet valuable takes on the epic.
The Odyssey is on track to surpass Oppenheimer’s lifetime domestic box-office total within 13 days, with early-week performance pushing U.S. grosses toward roughly $330 million. It would mark Christopher Nolan’s third-biggest domestic haul behind The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, and the film already stands as Matt Damon’s leading-role milestone at the domestic box office; Hadestown remains No. 2 as Odyssey continues its wide expansion.
Emily Wilson, translator of the 2017 Odyssey, writes in the London Review of Books that Nolan's The Odyssey is gimmicky with abysmal writing and underdeveloped characters, noting it lacks depth and even contains no sex scenes, while acknowledging its role in renewing interest in the source. Despite her disappointment, many critics have lauded the film as a major cinematic event with strong spectacle, helping drive box-office success even as she remains critical of its narrative and character development.
Only about 25 US theaters and roughly 45 worldwide can show The Odyssey in true IMAX 70mm, a rare, labor‑intensive feat that relies on aging projectors and scarce parts. The 70mm film runs horizontally at 1.43:1, delivering unparalleled brightness but requiring constant maintenance—from water‑cooling leaks and refurbished platters to PalmPilot-era controls now emulated on iPads and a Windows XP audio system being upgraded. Despite the challenges, audiences flock to the tangible, imperfect magic of film, though future expansion remains limited and dependent on technicians keeping these giants alive.
Emily Wilson argues Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is a visually dazzling but narratively muddled adaptation of Homer that overreaches in its moral and thematic scope. The film's characters feel underdeveloped, the gods are inconsistently represented, and subplots (Sinon, sea peoples) derail the center. Although it’s a cinematic event and may spur renewed interest in Homer, the work’s big ideas lack coherence, emotional depth, and clear human stakes, with a controversial Western Sahara backdrop adding to the ethical unease.
Universal’s The Odyssey remains the global box office leader with a strong second weekend bringing its worldwide cume toward $640M and a notable $215.3M weekend total powered in part by about $140M from IMAX; Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 5 climbed past $1B worldwide, hitting roughly $1.022B (about $448.6M domestic and $573.5M international), making it the top grosser of the year so far. The Odyssey posted robust international holds in markets like France, Italy, Australia, and the UK, aided by large-format play, while Odyssey’s strong performance solidifies Universal’s standing in a year already favorable to global releases.