Why Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

เลือกโหมดการเรียน:

Highlight:

3000 Oxford Words4000 IELTS Words5000 Oxford Words3000 Common Words1000 TOEIC Words5000 TOEFL Words

คำบรรยาย (371)

0:00We all knew the Odyssey was going to be

0:02big. We should have expected it to be

0:03mythical. Here's how Chris Nolan ended

0:05up at the head of the summer hype train

0:07once again. 3 2 1. Leading up to the

0:12official release, it was reported by

0:13Empire City box office that pre-sales

0:15for the movie had surged. So much so

0:17that the global opening was forecasted

0:19to reach almost $250 million. Talk about

0:22fulfilling a prophecy. If anyone was

0:24going to achieve a box office

0:25performance of this magnitude, it was

0:27always going to be Nolan. As one of the

0:29most respected filmmakers of his

0:30generation and this [music] century,

0:32it's not shocking at all that he was

0:33able to generate this level of hype. But

0:35it's not just Nolan's reputation that

0:37guaranteed success for the Odyssey. The

0:39timing of the release was also a major

0:41contributing factor. The summer

0:42blockbuster, first cemented in pop

0:44culture [music] by Steven Spielberg's

0:45Jaws in 1975, has been a Hollywood

0:48tradition ever since, and Nolan has

0:50increasingly become adamant about

0:51cashing in on the built-in hype that

0:53comes with it as he continues [music] to

0:54build his career. The results have been

0:56staggeringly positive. For instance,

0:58after dropping The Dark Knight in mid

1:00July in 2008, the film went on to earn

1:02over a billion dollars against a budget

1:04of about $185 million. Inception, also

1:07released in mid July just 2 years later,

1:10earned almost $840 million against a

1:12budget of $160 million. 2012's The Dark

1:15Knight Rises and 2017's Dunkirk were

1:18also immensely successful following

1:20their midsummer debuts. So, it only

1:22makes sense that the Odyssey would

1:23follow suit this time around and put up

1:25legendary numbers at the box office over

1:27its opening weekend. Let's go.

1:32Not only that, the reviews that

1:33accompany these earnings are some of the

1:35best Nolan has ever received over the

1:37course of his career. That's really

1:38saying something since literally every

1:40one of his films has been received well

1:42[music] critically. Even Tenant, which

1:44dropped during COVID and more or less

1:45confused us just as much as it wowed us.

1:48David [music] Fear, writing for Rolling

1:49Stone, gushed, "What you tend to walk

1:50away with after bearing witness to the

1:52Odyssey, arguably Christopher Nolan's

1:54best work after 2017's Dunkirk, is an

1:57overall sensation of all. It is one of

1:59the most dynamic movies in recent

2:00memory, giving the Odyssey a 10 out of

2:0210." Brent Hkins wrote for the Lamplight

2:05Review, "I went into this film bracing

2:06myself for a handsomely mounted

2:08spectacle. What I found instead was

2:10proof that Nolan remains one of the only

2:11directors left who can turn a film into

2:13an honest to god event." In his review

2:15for The Atlantic, David Sims said,

2:17"Nolan delivers at rarest breed of

2:19blockbuster with the Odyssey, a visual

2:20extravaganza shot entirely on IMAX and

2:23best seen projected onto a mountainized

2:25screen. Yet, the movie manages to be a

2:27challenging [music] personal work, too.

2:28These are just a few blurbs from a

2:30seemingly endless array of rapturous

2:32reviews. With praise like that coaxing

2:34people into theaters worldwide, it's not

2:36surprising that Nolan was able to break

2:38records at the box office yet again.

2:40Nolan has come a long way since he first

2:42burst onto the scene with following in

2:441998. He's mastered the art of the

2:46thriller. He's learned to bend minds in

2:48ways that feel satisfying, even when you

2:50don't totally get what he's going for.

2:52He's managed to make hella good

2:53superhero movies that appeal to people

2:55outside the usual comic book fandom. The

2:57dude was even able to make the highest

2:58grossing World War II film ever before

3:00breaking his own record with another one

3:02less than a decade later, which as we

3:05all know ended up being way better than

3:07it had the right to be. Seriously, if

3:09the guy can make a three-hour long

3:10biopic about a long deadad theoretical

3:12physicist engaging, there's [music]

3:14pretty much nothing he can't do.

3:16>> What do you want for theory alone?

3:18>> This is why we didn't need the Oracle of

3:20Delelfi to tell us that the Odyssey was

3:22destined [music] to perform well at the

3:23box office. Following the overwhelming,

3:25and let's be real, surprising success of

3:28a movie like Oppenheimer, audiences

3:30around the world were basically begging

3:32for more. And when we first found out

3:34that he would be dedicating all of his

3:35energy and resources to a sweeping new

3:37vision of a beloved epic that involves

3:39the fall of Troy, mythical creatures,

3:40and all sorts of IMAX worthy eye candy,

3:43yeah, he pretty much had us at hello.

3:45All the trailers and hype that followed

3:47only confirmed what everyone was already

3:48feeling. As we all know, summer

3:51blockbusters are by no means guaranteed

3:53to be successful, especially in the age

3:55of streaming.

3:56>> Promise me you will come back.

3:59>> What if I can't? As noted by Finance

4:01Buzz, there was a 61% decrease in summer

4:04blockbusters that earned over $und00

4:06million in 2022 when compared to numbers

4:08from a decade earlier. Ouch. And even if

4:11they do end up surpassing $100 million,

4:14it means nothing if their budgets are

4:15too outlandish. Expensive movies like

4:18Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part

4:19One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of

4:21Destiny are perfect examples of this.

4:23While they're both easily marketable

4:25installments of well-established

4:26franchises, [music] they were considered

4:28to be duds at the box office a year

4:30later in 2023. All thanks to how much it

4:32cost to make them in the first place.

4:34Dialis of Destiny was especially bad. It

4:36only earned $384 [music]

4:38million against a budget of a whopping

4:40$419 million. The fact that Nolan has

4:43been able to find success with both

4:44familiar intellectual properties like

4:46Batman and his own standalone stories

4:49speaks volumes about his ability to snap

4:51us out of our Netflix induced stupers

4:53and inspire us to have an actual

4:54experience at the movie theater. And by

4:57us, we really mean all of us. Unlike an

5:00MCU movie or something like Dune, the

5:02Odyssey appeals to pretty much everyone.

5:04Consider it through the lens of age

5:06demographics. Young people love a good

5:08spectacle. Older folks are suckers for a

5:10solid retelling of a story they all know

5:12and love or consider it in terms of

5:13gender. Men will never not enjoy a good

5:16battle scene or a slowb burn buildup

5:17towards an epic faceoff. [music] Women

5:19are likewise happy when a film gives the

5:21women complexity and doesn't reduce them

5:23to eye candy and/or cheap plot devices

5:25that exist just to motivate male leads.

5:27[music] However you choose to look at

5:28it, the Odyssey has what the industry

5:30refers to as the four quadrant appeal.

5:32Men and women over 25 and men and women

5:35under 25 are all just as likely to watch

5:38Odysius make his way home to his family.

5:39[music] It's a famously hard balance to

5:41achieve, and Nolan managed it with a

5:43plum this time around, just like he did

5:45with Oppenheimer.

5:46>> Bringing [music] vengeance,

5:50bringing it all.

5:52>> Beyond this metric, there are others

5:53that explain why Nolan's movies continue

5:55to find unparalleled success.

5:57Referencing numbers provided by

5:59Greenlight Analytics, The Observer

6:00compared audience engagement leading up

6:02to the release of Oppenheimer to that of

6:04four other recent historical epics made

6:06by bigname directors: Napoleon, Ferrari,

6:09Nerburgg, and Gladiator 2. With its

6:12awareness level sitting at 53% and its

6:14theatrical intent sitting at 47% in the

6:17days before it dropped, it easily bested

6:19the first three in both categories.

6:21Gladiator 2 was able to match Nolan's

6:23Epic in terms of awareness, but didn't

6:25come close when it came to intent. as

6:27evidenced by its much less

6:28groundbreaking box office numbers. The

6:30Odyssey, meanwhile, has matched or

6:32outperformed Oenheimer in almost every

6:34way. In the days leading up to its

6:36release, its opening weekend intent

6:38metric rose by 17.4%.

6:41While its premium large format metric,

6:43which tracks an audience's willingness

6:44to pay extra to see IMAX or 4K

6:47screenings, rose by 3.4%. Take note that

6:50people have also been willing to travel

6:51long distances to pay those higher

6:53ticket prices. As noted by the Observer,

6:55these stats suggest that Nolan's movies

6:57aren't just movies. They're events. Like

6:59the days of Yore, when a magician coming

7:01to town was the event of the season,

7:03audiences engaged with Nolan on a level

7:04that few of his peers have been able to

7:06match.

7:07>> No one could stand between me and home.

7:10>> But what about Nolan's work actually

7:12drives this level of engagement? Fans

7:14and the actors who work with Nolan will

7:16all probably tell you the same thing.

7:18Nolan is a real filmmaker, meaning he

7:20goes out of his way to produce his

7:22movies in ways that often require more

7:23work, money, and passion than your

7:25average blockbuster. Notably, the

7:27Odyssey is the first narrative film shot

7:29exclusively with an IMAX film camera, a

7:31device that presents a wide array of

7:33difficulties in exchange for a higher

7:35quality image. [music] For instance,

7:36they're apparently so loud that it's

7:38impossible to shoot uplose dialogue

7:40scenes with them. In a recent interview

7:42with GQ, Matt Damon touched on Nolan's

7:44methods and how he thinks the Odyssey is

7:46the end of an era, mostly due [music] to

7:47advancements in the realm of AI, which

7:49is already having profound effects on

7:51Hollywood. He [music] said, "It was a

7:53really weird movie for me personally in

7:55the sense that I had almost a nostalgic

7:56feeling the entire time I was making

7:58[music] it because it felt like the

7:59movies when I started working, and I

8:01know that that's going away. I knew that

8:02this was the last chance I was going to

8:04have to [music] do something like this.

8:05I don't think people are going to be

8:06given the resources to shoot movies that

8:08way for much longer. that world is gone.

8:11>> But Nolan respectfully disagreed with

8:13that sentiment in an interview with The

8:15Telegraph, [music] saying, "I think I

8:16know what Damon was driving at because

8:18it does seem like a long time since

8:19somebody made a film like this in this

8:21type of way, where you [music] travel

8:22the world, get together a cast of

8:24thousands, and so on." But there's a

8:26defeist aspect of viewing it that way

8:28that I don't agree with. I think cinema

8:29is vital and essential and continues to

8:32transform itself. We've got all these

8:33great new young voices in movies, making

8:35the medium their own and moving it

8:37forward. Those new young voices he

8:39referenced are Cain Parsons, the

8:40director of Back Rooms, and Curry

8:42Barker, who made Obsession. Both films

8:44set box office records earlier this year

8:46and support Nolan's theory that there is

8:48still a hunger for authentic human-made

8:49work among the masses. Turns out people

8:52really do respond to filmmakers [music]

8:53who actually tangibly care about what

8:55they're doing. Of course, no amount of

8:57hype or industry prestige can save a

8:59movie from bad acting. So, it comes as

9:01no surprise that Nolan put just as much

9:03thought into casting as he did with all

9:05other aspects of the film. The movie is

9:07absolutely stacked with talent. [music]

9:09So much so that saying the Odyssey has

9:11an ensemble cast is almost an

9:13understatement.

9:15>> You feel that? Do you feel it?

9:16>> Yeah, I take a little bit of that.

9:18[laughter]

9:19>> Matt Damon, who took a break from his

9:21usual leading man duties in Oppenheimer,

9:22brought just the right amount of star

9:24power to the main role. This time

9:25around, Nolan needed someone with

9:27universal appeal who's just as

9:28comfortable acting in a goofy family

9:30drama as he is playing the part of a

9:32deadly assassin, or in this case, a

9:34grizzled Greek warrior king. and few can

9:36deliver better than Damon in that

9:38regard. He straight up kills it as

9:40Odysius. Simple as [music] that. Zenaia,

9:42meanwhile, is one of those actors who

9:44manages to be everywhere without making

9:46people sick of her. After seeing her as

9:48Athena, it's hard to imagine anyone else

9:50trying to pull it off. Zena's hubby Tom

9:52Holland brings his specific brand of

9:53fragility to the character of Tmicus.

9:56And we're honestly amazed by how he

9:57manages to call Matt Damon daddy without

9:59making it weird. [music] and Robert

10:00Patson. Holy, this guy was born to creep

10:04on Odysius's family while he's away.

10:06After watching him knock the role of

10:07Antininoisu out of the park, we wouldn't

10:09mind it if he veers off into the realm

10:10of villain more often in the future.

10:13[music]

10:13>> They're pining for a daddy he didn't

10:15even know, like some sniveling bastard.

10:19>> Seriously though, every last big name on

10:21the call sheet, they all did their part

10:22to make the Odyssey as special as it can

10:24possibly be. But it's not just the

10:26acting itself that played a part in

10:27ensuring the Odyssey was a success. The

10:30marketing aspect was just as important.

10:32In the months leading up to the film's

10:33release, these [music] actors were

10:34literally everywhere using their star

10:36power to draw fans in. Even the world's

10:39most recognizable faces need to make an

10:41effort in The Year of Our Lord 2026,

10:43[music] lest they be buried by the

10:44algorithm. Lastly, we would be remiss to

10:47not mention one of the most obvious

10:49reasons The Odyssey found massive

10:50success at the box [music] office.

10:52Homer's Epic is one of the most studied

10:54and highly regarded works of literature

10:56in all of human history. Add to that the

10:58fact that none other than Christopher

10:59Nolan, who is himself quite revered,

11:01brought the story to life, and you can't

11:03argue that huge box office returns were

11:05[music] basically written in the stars.

11:07Of course, this is far from the first

11:08time that someone has adapted Homer's

11:10work. From old films like 1911's Loicia

11:13or 1956's [music] Helen of Troy to the

11:16Cohen brothers Oh Brother, Where Art

11:17Thou? Many have attempted to do the

11:19ancient tale justice. We can argue

11:21[music] about their respective merits

11:22all day, but one thing is for certain.

11:24No one has ever realized it on the scale

11:26that Nolan has, and it's almost

11:28unthinkable to imagine someone managing

11:30to outdo him at some point in the

11:31future. Unless we're talking about that

11:33AI adaptation that's in the works,

11:34right? Just kidding. That thing belongs

11:36in the recycle bin. Like all the critics

11:38who've been screaming its praises from

11:40the rooftops for this past week, we

11:42implore you to head to the theater and

11:44see Nolan's latest offering on the

11:46biggest screen possible. Whether it's an

11:47IMAX theater or just your regular small

11:50town joint, you won't be disappointed.

ฝึกฟัง

Why Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

Highlight: