Dear Gossips,

Most people, at least the ones who know what they’re talking about and not just social media trolls, were expecting The Odyssey to do well during its second weekend at the box office. Preliminary numbers are now in – only a 30% drop from the first weekend for a global total, so far, of $639 million, which means it’s now expected to cross the billion-dollar mark by the end of its run. And, remember, it’s an R-rated film. By any measure, it’s a smash hit.

Also, at a time when monoculture either doesn’t exist or rarely exists, depending on who you ask, which I guess is the point of the debate, The Odyssey is hitting with multiple demographics, including Gen Z, the generation that is said to be harder to get into the cineplex, and also with an older crowd – once again underscoring Christopher Nolan’s thesis about the relevance of the text.

Of course, among those who are seeing the film after all the hype, not everyone loves it. And not everyone has to. I don’t think that’s the goal of cinema, for there to be consensus in terms of how it’s received. The point, rather, is that it is received at all. That people want to participate in the conversation about it, and will make a plan – at a time when there are limitless options – to go and experience it the way the filmmaker intended it to be seen. That’s another stat that people in the industry are noting: it was also the highest grossing second weekend in IMAX history. And on that note, here’s a video that went viral this weekend of a projectionist doing a brief introduction before the film played.

And those IMAX totals will likely continue to climb because The Odyssey hasn’t even opened in China yet. Variety just reported this morning that almost all the IMAX screens in China will be showing The Odyssey next month.

Apparently Nolan has become “bigger than any movie star” with Chinese moviegoers, a notoriously challenging audience to crack for western filmmakers. Matt Damon would know something about this. See The Great Wall … or don’t, because no one did, LOL.

Yours in gossip 

Lainey 

 

Photo credits: MEGA/WENN

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