Director Christopher Nolan does not let his audiences down. Every few years, he makes that one “must-see” film of the year: The Dark Knight in 2008, Inception in 2010, Interstellar in 2014, Dunkirk in 2017, Oppenheimer in 2023. This year, his movie The Odyssey is such a film. Tickets to IMAX shows have been presold for a year, and theater seats are filled to the brim with viewers who vary in age, gender, ethnicity, and cultural tastes—this being a rarity in itself in the age of preferences individualized to the max. Nolan’s reputation, the studio’s marketing, and awareness of the title (even if few people actually have read the classic tale) have all driven people to theaters en masse.

All of this hype would have fizzled out after the first weekend if Nolan had not delivered… but of course he has, in spades. The movie will soon reach and then surpass Nolan’s record of $1 billion in box office grosses for some of his previous releases.

Continue reading….