'Troy' Viewership Surges 40-Fold Amid 'The Odyssey' Craze... Nolan's Previous Works Also Gain Popularity

Amid the box office craze for the film "The Odyssey," related movies such as "Troy," which deals with the Trojan War, and director Christopher Nolan's previous work "Oppenheimer," are also gaining popularity.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated online cinema ticket network on the 29th, the number of purchases for the movie "Troy" on IPTV platforms such as SK Btv, LG Uplus TV, and Genie TV from the beginning of this month through the 26th reached 23,653, soaring 4,020.7 percent compared to the previous month (574 purchases).

"Troy" jumped 103 spots in purchase rankings from the previous month to take seventh place, following "Colony" (101,648 purchases) and "The King and the Man" (50,152 purchases).

"Troy" depicts the Trojan War of ancient Greece and was released domestically in 2004.

The film begins with the flight of Trojan Prince Paris (played by Orlando Bloom) and Spartan Queen Helen (Diane Kruger) and follows the 10-year war waged by heroes such as Achilles (Brad Pitt) and Hector (Eric Bana).

Upon its domestic release, it drew strong popularity with approximately 3.85 million moviegoers.

"Troy" appears to be drawing attention as a prequel to director Nolan's film "The Odyssey."

"The Odyssey" primarily focuses on the events after the end of the Trojan War, capturing the journey of Odysseus (played by Matt Damon) as he returns to his kingdom of Ithaca.

Director Nolan has a past connection to the production of "Troy."

Although he ultimately did not direct it, the image of the Trojan Horse he encountered at the time remained in his mind for 20 years, serving as the seed for the production of "The Odyssey."

The 1997 film of the same name, "The Odyssey," is also attracting attention.

Purchases for "The Odyssey" reached 2,306 this month, surging 8,440.7 percent compared to the previous month (27 purchases).

Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, this two-part TV miniseries traces the journey from the birth of Odysseus's son Telemachus, through Odysseus's participation in the Trojan War, and back to his home.

On the online streaming service Wavve, it ranked second on the weekly box office for last week (August 17–23).

Other works by director Nolan are also receiving attention.

Purchases for "Oppenheimer" reached 4,366 this month, a 1,421.3 percent increase from the previous month (287 purchases).

Director Nolan's previous work "Oppenheimer" (2023) is a biographical film about the American genius scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967), portraying his leadership of the "Manhattan Project" to develop nuclear weapons during World War II.

It shares thematic resonance with "The Odyssey" in that it contains self-reflection on the destruction of civilization and the leading role played in it.

Odysseus in "The Odyssey" expresses guilt over breaking the "Law of Zeus" (the norm that guests and hosts must trust one another, show hospitality, and guarantee safety) that sustained civilization at the time.

Other works by director Nolan, including "Oppenheimer," "Interstellar" (2014), which drew 10 million viewers domestically, and "Inception" (2010), known for its imagination traversing consciousness and dreams, have also seen increased IPTV purchases and entered the top 50.

Released on the 5th, the film "The Odyssey" is winning over audiences with visual aesthetics that bring the grand worldview of Greek mythology to life.

In particular, it has driven high popularity for IMAX theaters as the first movie in cinematic history to be shot entirely on IMAX film cameras.

As of the previous day, "The Odyssey" has drawn approximately 8.017 million viewers, ranking third in box office earnings among releases this year, following "The King and the Man" (approximately 16.917 million viewers) and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (approximately 8.344 million viewers).

As of 9:00 a.m. today, its advance ticket reservation rate stands at the highest among screening films at 66.5 percent, with approximately 572,000 people awaiting viewing.

(Photo: Courtesy of Universal Pictures, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.