Two 10-Million-Viewer Hits Without a Series, Nolan Achieves a First

"Odyssey" Surpasses 10 Million Viewers in 33 Days
Nolan Poised for His Biggest Box Office Hit Yet

The film "Odyssey" has surpassed 10 million viewers just 33 days after its release. Director Christopher Nolan has achieved this feat for the second time, following "Interstellar," and notably, he accomplished it with a standalone film rather than a series.

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According to the integrated ticketing network of the Korean Film Council on the 7th, "Odyssey" drew 259,735 viewers the previous day, bringing its total cumulative audience to 10,027,990. It is the second film this year to reach the 10 million mark, following director Jang Hang-jun’s "The Man Who Lives with the King." This marks the tenth time a foreign film released in Korea has achieved this milestone.

Nolan is the fourth foreign director to attract more than 10 million viewers in Korea with at least two films, following the Russo brothers of "The Avengers," James Cameron of "Avatar," and Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee of "Frozen." He is the first to achieve this with two standalone films, not part of a series.

The speed of this achievement was also remarkable. "Odyssey" reached 1 million viewers on its fourth day, 5 million on its thirteenth day, and 8 million on its twenty-fourth day, making it the fastest box office hit among films released this year. Since its release, it has maintained the top spot at the box office every single day.

"Odyssey" is an adaptation of Homer’s "Odyssey" for the screen, depicting Odysseus’s ten-year journey home after leading the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War. The film features an ensemble cast of Hollywood stars, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, and Zendaya.

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The entire 172-minute runtime was shot with IMAX film cameras. Due to this scale, the consensus from the outset was that this was a film best experienced in theaters. In fact, by the previous day, more than 1,704,000 viewers watched the film in IMAX theaters, surpassing the previous record set by "Avatar: The Way of Water" (929,000 viewers), and setting a new all-time high.

This is not just a celebration in Korea. Global revenue stands at $1.564 billion (approximately KRW 2.1 trillion), far surpassing Nolan’s previous box office record, "The Dark Knight Rises" ($1.085 billion). It is highly likely to become his highest-grossing film in Korea as well, overtaking "Interstellar" (over 10,275,000 admissions).

The success of "Odyssey" has significance beyond just the numbers. The prevailing interpretation is that the era of theaters is not ending; audiences will still come for content that gives them a compelling reason to visit the cinema. Last month on the 3rd, ahead of the film’s release, Nolan, accompanied by Damon and Theron, visited Korea for the first time and encouraged viewers to experience the movie in theaters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.