What The Odyssey Ticket Stunt Means For Christopher Nolan

Published 7 hours ago• 5 minute read

and when those locations listed tickets for sale this morning, rabid cinephiles logged on in droves to scoop up tickets for summer 2026, almost as though this were a big concert like Taylor Swift or Metallica. The vast majority of these showings are already sold out. It seems difficult to fathom that it wasn't all that long ago many of us were talking about the death of the theatrical side of the movie business as we know it. But this is no ordinary movie. This is a Christopher Nolan movie.

Nolan, the man behind the $1 billion smash hit "The Dark Knight," is one of the most beloved and respected filmmakers working today. From early gems such as "The Prestige" to mind-bending, acclaimed original blockbusters such as "Inception," Nolan has earned the trust of moviegoers the world over during the last two decades. Sure, there are the Michael Bays of the world who can make big commercial hits, but Nolan garners critical acclaim while making cinema on the largest scale.

That's precisely what Universal is leaning into with this bold PR stunt, which bodes well for this movie's future box office prospects next summer. The larger point is that Universal knows Nolan's name alone has become synonymous with a cinematic event that must be seen on the big screen. These aren't merely movies, regardless of the subject matter.

Matt Damon as Odysseus in The Odyssey (2026)

Universal Pictures

Universal realizes that Christopher Nolan is in a class all his own. In the streaming era, when it's become increasingly difficult to get the masses to care about leaving the house to go to see a movie with the "wait to stream it" mentality more pervasive than ever for most major motion pictures, Nolan's take on Homer's "The Odyssey," a sword and sandals epic the likes of which has rarely worked in recent decades, is already garnering feverish demand. In the hands of another filmmaker, this all might seem like a fool's errand. In Nolan's? It feels like a slam dunk.

Case in point, it's difficult to imagine any other director turning "Oppenheimer" into a Best Picture winner that made nearly $1 billion at the box office, all while facing off directly against "Barbie," which made $1.3 billion and seemed like the more audience-friendly flick. Most other biopics would have been buried, yet Universal was able to effectively sell Nolan's take on the creation of the A-bomb as a must-see event. They intend to do the same with his take on the tale of Odysseus, and in the early going, it appears as though it's going to work.

Matt Damon leads the A-list cast of "The Odyssey" as Odysseus, with the likes of Tom Holland ("Spider-Man: No Way Home"), Anne Hathaway ("Interstellar"), Charlize Theron ("Mad Max: Fury Road"), Robert Pattinson ("The Batman"), and Zendaya ("Dune") all along for the ride, among several others. Nolan is one of those guys that can pretty much get whoever he wants to act in his films — and not just because these actors are surely being paid well, but because there is prestige attached to working with him. For actors and audiences alike, he is unmatched in the modern era.

All due respect to Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Greta Gerwig, or any other big-name filmmaker working today, but selling IMAX tickets a year early is only happening because we're talking about a Christopher Nolan film. He is the event worth planning a trip to the multiplex a year in advance for, not "The Odyssey" itself.

The statue with hot ash floating around its head on the poster for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (2026)

Universal Pictures

Beyond the Nolan element, what Universal is trying to do here is part of a larger trend that's been going on in the industry for several years. On the whole, most movies that have found major success at the box office in the pandemic era have been successfully sold to the masses as must-see cinematic events. Very rarely are movies getting by on just being a traditional movie. This is just the latest example of "eventized" moviegoing.

The whole "Oppenheimer" thing became a pop cultural event, but it doesn't even have to be that big. The re-release of Nolan's own "Interstellar" in IMAX last year became a micro-event of sorts, bringing in millions at the box office. The success of Neon's horror flick "Longlegs" became an event for horror lovers. Warner Bros. and Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" defied the odds to become one of the biggest hits of 2025 by being sold as an event. The list goes on.

Movies just as a regular trip to the movies largely doesn't cut it anymore. That's why so many theater chains are adding everything from bowling to ax throwing in an attempt to lure people in. But in some cases, the right combination of filmmaker and subject matter can itself become enough of an event, worthy of shelling out extra money for an IMAX ticket. (It's worth noting there are other premium formats doing well in the space as well, most notably Dolby Cinema. There are only so many IMAX screens, after all.)

For better or worse, Hollywood at large is leaning into the eventized model for success at the box office. On the plus side, 2026 is shaping up to be a banner year at the box office because there are so many event-worthy movies on the slate. But not everything can become an event, and what is to become of everything else? That's the larger question that won't be answered for years to come, but for now, Nolan gets to exist as the king of the multiplex.

In an era where so few things are certain and success is more elusive than ever in the movie business, Nolan is one of the safest bets around.

"The Odyssey" hits theaters on July 17, 2026.