Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Releases Globally with 172-Minute Runtime

Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey,' an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic, opened in theaters Friday following the director's Oscar-winning success with 'Oppenheimer.' The film stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, and Elliot Page, with a special appearance by Travis Scott.

The 172-minute film tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, navigating a 10-year journey home after the Trojan War, facing mythological monsters and divine intervention while his wife and son defend the kingdom in his absence. Nolan chose to film across six countries—Greece, Italy, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland, and the United States—to achieve documentary-like authenticity. The production shot 91 days across a scheduled six-month period, finishing nine days ahead of schedule.

Nolan employed extensive IMAX 70mm film, capturing 2.1 million feet of footage—a distance longer than Toronto to New York. The camera, equipped with a noise-reducing enclosure nicknamed 'the blimp,' weighs approximately 300 pounds and allows only 2.5 to 3 minutes of continuous shooting per roll, requiring intense focus from cast and crew. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick oversaw production of 5,300 costumes with teams of 175 artisans in Los Angeles and over 500 crew members globally.

Composer Ludwig Göransson scored the film using traditional aulos and lyre alongside 35 bronze gongs, creating what Nolan described as an 'earthy, accessible, grounded' soundscape aligned with his realistic approach. The production deployed 2,000 extras for the Siege of Troy sequence early in shooting. Nolan noted the runtime is shorter than 'Oppenheimer' partly due to IMAX projector limitations of three hours maximum. The film released globally on 15 July 2026, including in Indonesia.