How ‘The Odyssey’ Conquered Elon Musk and the Digital Hordes

Elon Musk has many talents and skills, but now we know the ability to influence cinematic trends is not among them. The billionaire magnate has been vociferously complaining for weeks, if not months, to his 240 million followers on X that Christopher Nolan’s new film of “The Odyssey” is going to be “woke garbage,” thanks to the presence of Lupita Nyong’o in the dual role of Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra and the casting of the trans actor Elliot Page, in a part that Mr. Musk erroneously – maliciously? – suggested was that of Achilles.On and on it went. Mr. Musk made Nolan’s picture a test case, sight unseen, for everything that was wrong with contemporary Hollywood, and contrasted it with Uwe Boll’s “Citizen Vigilante,” in which Armie Hammer goes on a righteous killing spree, as an example of what modern cinema should be doing. “The Odyssey,” Mr. Musk and his disciples claimed, was a classic example of the woke mind virus, a classic text being desecrated because of its director’s quest to win more Oscars. For good measure, Musk claimed that the film’s diverse casting was purely done to satisfy the Academy’s new DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) requirements, making the director a grasping coward on top of everything else.The results are now in, and it’s clear proof that filmgoers of all political and artistic hues are on Christopher Nolan’s side, not Elon Musk’s. After fevered speculation as to whether the backlash against the film would hurt it, the clear answer is “not in the slightest.” The film has opened to adulatory reviews — with a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the most acclaimed picture of Nolan’s career to date — and stratospheric box office receipts that are considerably higher than even the wildest predictions were suggesting. The US opening weekend figures for the film were $124.5 million, and coupled with an international gross of $264 million, makes it Nolan’s fastest-ever grossing picture so far, even outdoing his “Batman” films. The accomplishment is all the more impressive for its being a three-hour, R-rated literary adaptation. Even Ben Shapiro liked it.With the only serious box office rival coming out over the coming weeks being the latest Spider-Man picture — amusingly starring “Odyssey” stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal — and with nothing else of any significance being released before fall, only an idiot would bet against Nolan’s latest picture accruing even vaster sums at the box office.Barring an unexpected turn, its making a billion dollars worldwide seems perfectly attainable, with excellent word-of-mouth meaning that repeated viewings and an overpowering sense of FOMO will drive huge and enthusiastic audiences for months yet to come.It helps, of course, that the film is the first feature entirely to have been filmed on IMAX cameras which gives it an appropriately epic and sweeping feel when seen on one of the relatively few IMAX 70mm screens out there. Already, there are stories of people driving for hours to see the film as Nolan intended it to be seen, and most of the large-format screenings have been sold out for weeks. Universal, the film’s distributor, were savvy enough to put tickets on sale a year before the picture was released, building anticipation and a genuine sense of event, which has now been spectacularly vindicated.Christopher Nolan directing ‘The Odyssey.’ Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via APNolan’s last film was the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer,” which was released in the same weekend as “Barbie.” This created the so-called “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, and led to both pictures becoming enormous hits as audiences saw the two films consecutively as a must-see experience. Oddly, the “Barbenheimer” hype almost detracted from the strengths of Nolan’s somber, brooding biopic which demonstrated that a subject that might have been almost painfully dry in anyone else’s hands could become vital, electrifying filmmaking. That film made a shade under a billion worldwide and won seven Oscars, and handed Nolan a blank check to do what he liked with. “The Odyssey” is the triumphant proof that that faith has been rewarded.The paucity of interesting films released this year is only mirrored by the tendency of numerous high-profile pictures to flop resoundingly. Perhaps mindful of William Goldman’ celebrated dictum that “nobody knows anything,” studios are attempting to stick to tried-and-tested brands and IP. Sometimes this is still paying off. The (dismal) Michael Jackson biopic was a huge hit, surpassing “Oppenheimer” as the highest-grossing biopic of all time, and the latest “Toy Story”and “Super Mario Bros” pictures prove that there is a large and enthusiastic audience for animated films.But Hollywood is now a wholly unpredictable town. Tiny budget horror pictures by YouTubers like “Obsession,” and “Backrooms“ are doing far better than the likes of “Supergirl” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Ryan Gosling’s big-budget space comedy-adventure”Project Hail Mary” was a massive hit, even as Steven Spielberg’s return to sci-fi, with “Disclosure Day” proved a disappointment.What the success of “The Odyssey” has proved is that Nolan, far more than anyone in his star-studded cast, is now the biggest draw in cinema. This is an amusing development for those who have been arguing in favor of the auteur theory for years. Not since Mr. Spielberg in his heyday has there been another director whose very name above the title turns his films into appointment viewing.Meantime Mr. Nolan produces a film every three years — the next, he has hinted, might be longer yet, so exhausting was the production of “The Odyssey” — and each of them comes freighted with giddy levels of anticipation. “The Odyssey” managed to buck the trend of other films that fell foul of the culture wars, such as the “Ghostbusters” remake and “The Little Mermaid,” which both suffered at the box office. The success of Mr. Nolan’s latest picture proves that cinemagoers are more interested in event movies, with concomitant “must-see” hype, than they are in being told what to do by blowhards on social media.It confirms Mr. Nolan as not only king of the blockbuster, but as the only A-list director in contemporary Hollywood who can, like the magicians in his 2006 thriller “The Prestige,” bend the movie industry to his will.

How ‘The Odyssey’ Conquered Elon Musk and the Digital Hordes

How ‘The Odyssey’ Conquered Elon Musk and the Digital Hordes

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