Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' opens to $264 million, screenplay becomes bestseller amid culture war noise

Box office dominance

The film earned $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million globally over its opening weekend, making it Christopher Nolan's biggest debut. It received an "A" CinemaScore and 95% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The three-hour epic drew large IMAX crowds, with some screenings sold out well into Sunday night.

Screenplay publication

Faber & Faber will release the 240-page screenplay on Aug. 4, but preorders have already made it a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon. The book includes dialogue and scene descriptions, continuing Nolan's tradition of publishing scripts for films like "Oppenheimer" and "Interstellar." Interest in the source material has also surged: sales of Homer's "The Odyssey" are up 76% year to date, and audiobook listening spiked around the film's debut.

Awards prospects

As the follow-up to Best Picture winner "Oppenheimer," the film is an early Oscar contender. Matt Damon's performance as Odysseus is expected to earn him a third Best Actor nomination. John Leguizamo, playing the loyal servant Eumaeus, is seen as a strong candidate for Best Supporting Actor, partly due to his advocacy for Latino representation. However, the film's structure, which continually outdoes itself with spectacle, may make it harder for other cast members like Lupita Nyong'o and Zendaya to stay in voters' minds.

Culture war backlash fizzles

Before release, Elon Musk and right-wing commentators attacked the film for "woke" casting, including Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Sinon, and for drawing on Emily Wilson's 2017 translation. Calls for a boycott failed to materialize. Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro called it a landmark achievement, while some online conspiracists claimed ticket sales were faked, citing empty theaters. The production budget was $250 million, with $125 million in marketing.

Moral questions at the core

The film uses the Greek concept of xenia, or sacred hospitality, as a moral framework. Odysseus's Trojan Horse trick is portrayed as a violation of that code, haunting him throughout his journey.

Its view of war and the gods is closer to mine than it is to Homer's.

The adaptation emphasizes the human cost of myth-making, with Odysseus telling his son, "Don't look for gods in men. You'll only be disappointed."

Zeus' law has been torn to pieces.