If you’ve spent any time online lately — or, frankly, if you’ve been a person living in the world — you’ve probably heard some version of: “There’s a new Christopher Nolan movie out that’s supposed to be nuts. We should go see that.”
Despite a cast that includes Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, and Robert Pattinson, that’s how “The Odyssey” is being marketed: the latest film from Christopher Nolan.
As superhero franchises lose some of their box-office dominance and Hollywood worries about the next generation of movie stars, a different kind of star has emerged: the director.
Christopher Nolan gets butts in seats more than almost any movie star
There’s perhaps no other living director on Nolan’s level right now. He hasn’t directed a film that’s made less than $550 million since 2006, if you disregard “Tenet,” which came out during the COVID-19 pandemic and still made a respectable $366 million.
“The Odyssey” has made $639 million since its July 17 release (though some of those IMAX tickets had already been sold a year in advance), and scalpers are selling tickets for $600 — figures that are unprecedented for an R-rated, non-superhero film.
Nolan, recently ranked by Vulture as Hollywood’s most powerful director, is a franchise unto himself. His films promise spectacle: breathtaking action, meticulous visuals, a beautiful score, booming sound, and big ideas. And while his casts are stacked, their stars are not always reliable box-office draws.
Consider Matthew McConaughey: “Interstellar,” released at the peak of the “McConaissance,” made $774 million, but McConaughey has not come close to achieving that level of box-office success since.
Similarly, Matt Damon, the lead of “The Odyssey,” last led a mega-successful blockbuster over a decade ago with “The Martian.” He’s worked at a high clip since then, but nothing has reached the highs of “The Odyssey” or his last collaboration with Nolan, “Oppenheimer.”
In fact, let’s talk about “Oppenheimer” — or, we should say, “Barbenheimer.”
‘Barbenheimer’ was a phenomenon, driven by 2 director-forward blockbusters
In July 2023, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” opened the same day as Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” creating the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon.
Gerwig’s three solo directorial efforts (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women,” and “Barbie”) each grossed more than the last, culminating in “Barbie” grossing $1.4 billion.
As much as “Barbie” was led by its star, Margot Robbie, the film was also marketed as a Gerwig film. And similar to Damon and McConaughey, Robbie hadn’t been a reliable box-office draw preceding “Barbie.” Her two prior films, “Babylon” and “Amsterdam,” were deemed catastrophic flops.
“Oppenheimer,” a three-hour, R-rated epic about the man who created the atomic bomb, grossed an equally impressive $975 million.
Instead of starring a proven A-lister, it was led by Cillian Murphy, best known for his smaller roles in Nolan’s films and the TV series “Peaky Blinders.” Instead, it was mainly sold on Nolan’s penchant for spectacle.
Both films would be nominated for best picture at the 2024 Academy Awards, with “Oppenheimer” winning.
They join directors like Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Jordan Peele, who are passionate about the theatrical experience
Remember this promotional video Coogler shared before the release of “Sinners”?
Arguably, nothing did more to add to the hype of “Sinners” than Coogler’s impassioned case for seeing the film in IMAX. (In fact, his name has become so closely associated with shooting on film that Marvel’s announcement that his “Black Panther 3” will be filmed on large-format celluloid — a first for the studio — was met with huge cheers rather than blank stares.)
Commenters said the clip inspired them to buy premium-format tickets, and the film went on to gross $370 million, an impressive feat for an original, R-rated horror movie set in 1930s Mississippi.
Similarly, Paul Thomas Anderson emphasized his VistaVision format while promoting “One Battle After Another,” which became his highest-grossing film at $231 million. It also earned him his first best director Academy Award and won best picture.
We could go on — like how Gerwig persuaded Netflix to put her next film, a “Chronicles of Narnia” reboot, in theaters for an unprecedented 48 days, or how Jordan Peele got “Nope” to gross $171 million, or how 21-year-old Kane Parsons’ vision for “Backrooms” led to the film making $387 million — but you get the picture.
Audiences have responded — and studios should take note
In 12 days, “The Odyssey” made $286 million domestically, more than double the worldwide total made by “Supergirl” and surpassing the full domestic run of “Thunderbolts.”
The superhero movie isn’t over, but they can no longer be assumed to dominate end-of-year box office lists.
Plus, apps such as Letterboxd and film podcasts, including “Blank Check” and “The Big Picture,” have helped make directors, auteur filmmaking, and originality a bigger part of mainstream movie culture.
Studios can no longer put familiar intellectual property on the big screen and expect audiences to eat it up. The success of Nolan, Gerwig, Coogler, Peele, and others suggests they need to invest in filmmakers and their visions, and market what sets them apart from their peers.
The movie star isn’t dead — he’s just not an actor anymore.
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