Nolan's 'The Odyssey' tops $727M globally as translator Emily Wilson calls script 'abysmal'

Box office dominance

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has earned $727.9 million globally after 12 days in theaters, with $320.5 million from domestic audiences and $407.4 million overseas. It is the fourth highest-grossing release of 2026, behind Toy Story 5 ($1.02 billion), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.001 billion) and Michael ($1.001 billion). The film cost $250 million to produce and is expected to join the billion-dollar club within the coming week. Imax screenings have contributed $140 million, making it the format's second-fastest title to reach $100 million, after Avengers: Endgame. The Odyssey has yet to open in China, where it will land on nearly 800 Imax screens on August 14.

A translator's scathing review

Emily Wilson, whose 2017 translation of Homer's epic was cited by Nolan, published a blistering assessment in the London Review of Books. She wrote that the film lacks psychological and ethical depth, and that the script is poorly written.

Nolan's Odyssey lacks many of the elements that make the poem great.... The writing is abysmal. None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible.

Wilson, the first woman to publish an English translation of The Odyssey, told the Associated Press that while she welcomed the renewed interest in the poem, she felt Nolan "was trying to pack everything in while missing themes that were essential to the poem." She also suggested the director should have hired a scriptwriter. Her translation reached the top five on Amazon during the film's opening week.

Oates fires back

Author Joyce Carol Oates defended the film on social media, criticizing Wilson's tone.

[Her] tone of dismissal & haughty superiority strike a sour note.... [She] speaks in the crude language of MAGA folks attacking someone with ideas that differ from hers.

Oates recommended both Nolan's adaptation and the 1997 miniseries starring Armand Assante, calling them notably different but valid reimaginings.

Greece embraces the epic

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a video call with Nolan this week, congratulating him on the film's success and thanking him for boosting global interest in ancient Greek culture.

The Prime Minister congratulated the British filmmaker on bringing the Homeric epic poem to the big screen and thanked him for the film's contribution to boosting global interest in ancient Greek culture, adding that such productions bridge Greece's rich cultural heritage with contemporary creativity.

The production filmed in the Peloponnese region in spring 2025, using sites such as Nestor's Cave and Voidokilia Beach, and tapped Greece's 40% film cash rebate for €6.4 million ($7.2 million). In Greek cinemas, the film drew 408,758 admissions over two weeks, outpacing Toy Story 5's 252,640 admissions over six weeks. Teacher Filippos Mantzaris, who teaches The Odyssey to seventh graders, said, "every new creation is exactly that, a new creation," reflecting a local view that the epic thrives through reinvention.

Scholars split, Musk weighs in

Critic and translator Daniel Mendelsohn, writing in The New York Review of Books, praised Nolan's "great visual panache" but faulted the portrayal of Odysseus as lacking cleverness and humor. He had earlier defended the casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy as a provocative choice. Meanwhile, Elon Musk criticized the film's casting and pledged that his AI tool Grok would produce a "historically accurate" version by year's end, and replied "I'm down" to a suggestion that Mel Gibson should direct a version in Homeric Greek.

What's next

The Odyssey is projected to earn $50 million to $60 million in its third weekend, even with competition from Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It is on track to surpass The Dark Knight Rises ($1.08 billion) as Nolan's highest-grossing film. The China release on August 14 is expected to push it well past the billion-dollar mark.