The Odyssey Passes $1 Billion Worldwide As Hideo Kojima Shares His Review Of Christopher Nolan's Movie

The Odyssey Passes $1 Billion Worldwide As Hideo Kojima Shares His Review Of Christopher Nolan's Movie

The Odyssey has reached $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and it could eventually dethrone Deadpool & Wolverine to become the biggest R-rated movie ever. Hideo Kojima, meanwhile, shares his review.

By JoshWilding - Aug 07, 2026 03:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantasy
Source: SFFGazette.com

After The Odyssey recently beat Oppenheimer's $975.8 million haul to become the third highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, Christopher Nolan's fantasy epic has officially surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

It should receive another boost internationally when it's released in China and Japan in the coming weeks, and when all is said and done, The Odyssey will likely end its run with $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion (meaning it should beat Deadpool & Wolverine to become the biggest R-rated movie ever). That's an incredible result that will once again give Nolan his choice of projects when he decides what his next blockbuster will be. 

The movie has also gained a very famous fan: Hideo Kojima. He's the visionary creator of Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, and Kojima's word carries a lot of weight with fans. It's no surprise then that in recent years his movie reviews on social media have frequently gone viral.

A detailed verdict typically means he loved a new release, while a simple acknowledgement that he's watched something is usually perceived as a sign he didn't like it.

Well, Kojima's take on The Odyssey is nothing but praise for the movie. Hailing it as "truly an unprecedented, unexperienced 'Odyssey,'" the video game legend declared the fantasy epic "magnificent."

Check out Kojima's full review of The Odyssey below. 

At the "David Geffen Theater," I watched director Nolan's "Odyssey (entirely shot on IMAX® film cameras)" in a 70mm film IMAX® screening. No, rather than saying I "watched" the screen, it felt like I was there the whole time! , a sensation of "witnessing it!" This impact was reminiscent of when I was in elementary school and first saw a "Cinerama" screening at the "Osaka OS Theater." Back then, the immersive realism was utterly different from what I was used to on a cathode ray tube. It brought back those feelings from that time.

The lack of Japanese subtitles might have been a good thing, too. I'd grown up watching the story's structure since childhood—from the Kirk Douglas version (1954) to several black-and-white adaptations—so I understood it, but this was a whole different bodily experience. For me, it was truly an unprecedented, unexperienced ""Odyssey." Even with its massive screen layout at "aspect ratio 1.43:1," it drew endlessly close to the actors' expressions, capturing their emotions deeply with shallow "depth of field," then switching to fine details with "pull focus," relentlessly pursuing their anguish and fate in Nolan and Hoyte's image-making.

The tour de force performances by a luxurious cast that could withstand that resolution. In this film too, Nolan's signature of meticulously crossing timelines with intersecting time was alive and well. All of it could be said to have elevated the "classical epic" that everyone knows into a human drama on a lifelike scale. It was magnificent. When it releases in Japan in September, it'll be digital IMAX®, but I'll probably make a "homecoming" to see it a few more times.

"Matt Damon and Christopher Nolan join forces for a movie that blows every other modern blockbuster out of the water," we wrote in our review"Breathtakingly epic, powerful, and pure spectacle, The Odyssey is simply magnificent."

The cast of The Odyssey includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal, Mia Goth, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Lupita Nyong'o, Will Yun Lee, Benny Safdie, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Corey Hawkins, Josh Stewart, Jimmy Gonzales, Maurice Compte, and Logan Marshall-Green.

Shot across the world using brand-new IMAX film technology, the film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time, and it's now playing in theaters.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
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XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/7/2026, 3:07 PM
Favorite movie of the year so far. Seen it twice and it was even better the second time. Epic experience.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/7/2026, 3:30 PM
@XenoJazz - It's my joint favorite with Project Hail Mary. I'm gonna be so conflicted come the Oscars.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 8/7/2026, 3:31 PM
especially considering Dune 3 will probably be a contender also.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/7/2026, 3:35 PM
@ObserverIO - Yeah its been a great year for movies. Dune is still my most anticipated but project Hail Mary and The Odyssey were top tier.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 4:05 PM
@ObserverIO - Project Hail Mary was excellent but Odyssey bends that one over its knee and gives it the paddle.

However along with you, I think Dune 3 might take the crown.
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 8/7/2026, 6:36 PM
@Lucasberg - Project Hail Mary finally brought Lord & Miller back to the director's chair. I thought Solo killed their chances to ever do that again.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/7/2026, 7:46 PM
@Usernametaken - Genuinely thought about that constantly throughout that movie. Those dudes are exactly the energy shot star wars needs. Their Solo movie would've been so much fun. What a waste.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 8:08 PM
@Usernametaken - if you count animated movies they’re also responsible for the excellent Spider-verse movies
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 8/7/2026, 10:03 PM
@ObserverIO - @XenoJazz

Right there with you guys... add in Godzilla for me as well and 2026 is f*cking loaded with amazing movies... personally I think it'll be between Dune and Odyssey... but man Project hail Mary was awesome in its own right
Pathogen
Pathogen - 8/8/2026, 11:14 AM
@ObserverIO - Luckily, we don't get votes lol We just get to bitch when a stupid pop movie with no soul wins
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 8/7/2026, 3:14 PM
But bunch of anti-woke grifters swore that it would flop. Are you seriously telling me they don't know what they are talking about?
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 8/7/2026, 6:20 PM
@FinnishDude - The explanation for the diverse cast is simple :
Nolan made the movie to bring the morale of "Zeus's law" to our modern (and currently very divided and [frick]ed up) world, not just to white people.

But to be honest, I also think the casting of Helen was made so that the movie would trend on social media. They trolled the trolls :)
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 3:15 PM
Maaaaaaaaaaan, its just sad and an embarrassment how much some conservatives (of which I lean) completely whiffed it regarding this movie. Movie is truly a great one with great feeling, grand visuals and a wonderful story and numbers of conservatives just took the bait and utterly embarrassed themselves by dunking on this movie for being wOkE which broadly speaking, it is not. Best movie of the year so far.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/7/2026, 3:37 PM
@Lucasberg - And even if they were surprised by how much they liked it they'll never admit it. I lean more conservative too but I dont give a shit about any of that other stuff as long as the movie is good.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 4:11 PM
@XenoJazz - yep. 100 percent. Its observable that its pretty firmly ingrained in people to NEVER admit mistakes or error in judgment. Even though we all err. I don't think its an exaggeration to say that most of us REFUSE to acknowledge this about ourselves which is kind of amazing to think about. A good thing to plan to do: be ready to admit when I get something wrong lol
Lysander45
Lysander45 - 8/7/2026, 3:20 PM
Kojima enjoyed watching the movie of Sad Boat Man and his crew. Whoa yeah.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 8/7/2026, 3:49 PM
@Lysander45 - what's next? Calling MacBeth "hen pecked stabby man"?
Nonameforme
Nonameforme - 8/7/2026, 3:25 PM
I was told this movie was a failure
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 8/7/2026, 3:47 PM
@Nonameforme - it failed to be a failure. It did that all wrong.

*snerk*
Nonameforme
Nonameforme - 8/7/2026, 4:30 PM
@UltimaRex - they played 3D chess at failing to fail.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 8/7/2026, 3:42 PM
Nolan, the cast, and the crew did a great job with this one.
Usernametaken
Usernametaken - 8/7/2026, 6:32 PM
@ModHaterSLADE - the great news is : Nolan is gonna have another blank check and any talents he wants for whatever project he'll want to make.

The man is 56, crazy to think that he is getting more and more successful by making movies about the creation of the atomic bomb or a retelling of an almost 3000 years old story.

I know we're on a CBM website, but it's great to see other movie genre being successful besides superhero or family CGI movies (AKA anything produced by Disney)
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 8/8/2026, 12:43 PM
@Usernametaken - True that.
regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 8/7/2026, 3:50 PM
@LiquidSwords how we feeling?

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Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 4:02 PM
@regmovieguy - lol - had a lengthy back and forth with him. Phenomenally wrong and in total denial about the merits of the film.

regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 8/7/2026, 4:09 PM
@Lucasberg

You’re preaching to the choir. He bet me (I didn’t bring it up) $200 the movie would have a 60-70% drop in its week 2 box office and he’s been moving goal posts and making non-sensical arguments ever since.

Dude’s a big time mental case. I don’t even care about the money, lmao.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 4:13 PM
@regmovieguy - would be nice if he just owned it like, "okay. I was dead wrong. Gonna try to figure out where I got this one wrong" lol
regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 8/7/2026, 4:16 PM
@Lucasberg

Exactly 😂

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Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/7/2026, 4:18 PM
@regmovieguy - LOL
FireGunn
FireGunn - 8/7/2026, 4:50 PM
@regmovieguy - Don't even bother with him lmao
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/9/2026, 3:54 PM
@regmovieguy - Better. It didn't make a billion in profit.

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See? You bring it to other threads. Sorry I got in your head.
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/9/2026, 3:55 PM
@Lucasberg - "Phenomenally wrong and in total denial about the merits of the film."

Any examples? How was Odysseus like that in the books? Where are the Greeks?
regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 8/9/2026, 4:08 PM
@LiquidSwords

The movie’s going to have a 6x multiplier and is on pace to become the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. But yeah bro it was super frontloaded.

Enjoy the cope. 😂

Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/9/2026, 4:27 PM
@LiquidSwords - it’s fairly reliable that if 3 elements are present with a film that it has something special about it and should be acknowledged (even if one personally doesn’t prefer it):

-overall high praise from critics
-overall high praise from audiences
-high returns at the box office

Weekend 1 presented with all three. It was a no brainer that the movie was a massive success on pretty much all levels contrary to the prognostications of some of my conservative friends.

Regarding Odysseus, there are clear examples in the text of him lamenting the horrors of war. That is actually in there. Additionally the character and his motivations are famously obscured in the text opening a lane for a storyteller to express unique ideas through him - which, Chris Nolan used to christianize Odysseus! -treat others as you would want to be treated (a core Western value, rightly elevated in our stories). SIGN ME UP. I for one am glad that this movie served as a vehicle for reinforcing some of the highest ideas that humanity has enjoyed, thanks largely to the superior vision of the Christian worldview as opposed to the older and weaker Greek vision of conquering, glory and power.

Regarding the lack of a Greek cast: this has been done in Hollywood since forever. It’s not “woke” to fill a historical (and especially) *myth* movie with the biggest stars of the day regardless of their ethnicity. I will say that adding Paige as a male character was wokeish but Paige had 5 minutes of screen time in the movie…and conversely Nolan had worked with Paige previously (so it wasn’t totally out of pocket), not even mentioning that all the way back to Shakespeare characters portrayed the opposite sex in staged plays - the point being, that this really was not a big deal.

Big historical epics that did their cast relatively accurately race wise like Apocalypto can be amazing. Admittedly Apocalypto is like the best movie and I wish more would do this sort of thing but it doesn’t change the fact that many historical epic movies are still great with that modernized cast thing, including The Odyssey. It’s fine if people don’t prefer the movie but pretending the movie is bad because of the casting or whatever just completely misses the point.
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/10/2026, 11:04 PM
@regmovieguy - 6x multiplier? Still pure hopium.

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Domestic is sitting around $461 million* off a $123.5 million open — roughly 3.7x, so far. A true 6x means finishing near $740 million domestic. Deadpool & Wolverine still owns the all-time R-rated crown near $1.33 billion and the cost reality doesn’t vanish just because the gross is big. Production was still $250 million. Marketing another $125 million plus and theater chains taking roughly half. Nolan’s reported 20% first-dollar gross deal further cuts the studio’s share.

Again, kiddo, the early multi-week IMAX exclusive and light competition juiced the opening base those later holds are measured against. Strong legs don’t erase a higher break-even bar or the structural boost the film got out of the gate. No number of tickets sold, either.

Take the L.

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LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/10/2026, 11:09 PM
@Lucasberg - Welllllll, high critic scores, verified audience scores, and big box office don’t automatically equal something special or shut down every criticism. Plenty of movies clear all three and still have major creative or cultural problems. Success metrics measure popularity and marketing reach, not fidelity or quality in every dimension.

As for Odysseus... selective lamenting of war exists in the text, but the character is far more defined by cunning, ruthlessness, pride, and the pursuit of glory and homecoming on his own terms. Framing Nolan’s version as a clear upgrade that “Christianizes” him into a treat-others-as-you-want-to-be-treated figure is a stretch. That's a modern overlay, not a natural reading of the source. The older Greek emphasis on honor, cleverness, and the harsh realities of the heroic code isn’t automatically weaker.

Hollywood has always cast big stars regardless of ethnicity, that’s true. Calling every objection “pretending the movie is bad because of casting” still dodges the specific complaint. When a story rooted in a particular culture and mythology is populated almost entirely by non-Greek leads, and then defended as irrelevant because myths are flexible, it becomes fair to ask how much of the original cultural texture is being retained versus overwritten. Ellen Page’s brief role isn’t the whole issue; it’s one data point in a broader pattern. Comparing it to Shakespearean cross-dressing or past Hollywood practice doesn’t make the choice above criticism. You can like the movie and still acknowledge that the adaptation choices (character emphasis, casting, thematic reframing) moved it a long way from the source. Box office and aggregate scores don’t erase that gap.

Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/10/2026, 11:24 PM
@LiquidSwords -
- I appreciate how well written and thought out your response is.

Bottom line in simplest terms, it’s clear that this movie plays well with most and its message broadly, is a good one.

There’s not really another movie like it and it came from Nolan’s unique vision.

It’s admittedly a loose adaptation of the source. But this sort of thing has been done before like in O Brother Where Art Thou? - Using components of The Odyssey to fashion the director’s own story and movie. Point is, the movie deserves and earns its praise.

Again, Nolan made a movie that really works and that feels distinct from everything else. There are praiseworthy themes in this and it retains a true feeling of adventure start to finish.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/10/2026, 11:42 PM
@LiquidSwords - worldwide the movie is looking at 1.4-1.5 billion. There’s no way to read that except as a smashing success that will be generating 2-300 million dollars in pure profit for Universal just from its run in theatres! There is no L to take! 😂
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/11/2026, 1:10 AM
@Lucasberg - 1.4–1.5 billion is still a projection. Even if it lands there, the huge "pure profit" talk ignores the real cuts. $250 million production plus $125 million (some reports report more) plus marketing is already ~$375M out the door. Theaters take roughly half of the gross. Nolan’s reported 20% participation takes another big slice off the top.

After those pieces, Universal's actual theatrical return is a lot closer to modest profit (or thin depending on final number and exact splits) than the $200–300 million "pure" figure being thrown around.

The cost structure and backend make the studio’s take far less impressive than the worldwide total suggests. That's the point.

Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/11/2026, 1:14 AM
@LiquidSwords - 1.4 is basically a lock. It’s sold out in 70mm up to September and it had like just a 4% drop from last weekend to this past weekend. There’s no way this isn’t a huge windfall of cash for Universal
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