Spurred by 'Odyssey' Craze, 'Troy' Viewership Surges 40-Fold... Christopher Nolan's Past Works Also Gaining Popularity

Fueled by the craze for the movie 'Odyssey', related films 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, marking a 4,020.7% surge compared to the previous month (574 purchases).

In terms of purchase rankings, 'Troy' jumped 103 spots from the previous month to rank 7th, following 'The Colony' (101,648 purchases) and 'The King and the Man' (50,152 purchases).

'Troy' depicts the Trojan War of ancient Greece and was released in South Korea in 2004.

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

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

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

'Odyssey' primarily focuses on the story after the end of the Trojan War, capturing Odysseus's (Matt Damon) journey back to his kingdom of Ithaca.

Director Nolan has a connection to the production process of 'Troy'.

Although he did not ultimately 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 'Odyssey'.

The 1997 film of the same name, 'The Odyssey', is also receiving attention.

'The Odyssey' saw its purchase count surge 8,440.7% this month to 2,306, compared to 27 in the previous month.

Directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, this two-part television miniseries begins from the birth of Odysseus's son Telemachus and depicts Odysseus's participation in the Trojan War and his journey home.

On the online video streaming service (OTT) Wavve, it ranked 2nd on the weekly box office for last week (August 17–23).

Other works by director Nolan are also drawing attention.

'Oppenheimer' recorded 4,366 purchases this month, a 1,421.3% increase from 287 in the previous month.

Director Nolan's previous work 'Oppenheimer' (2023) is a biographical film about 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 'Odyssey' in that it contains self-reflection on the destruction of civilization and the responsibility of those who spearheaded it.

Odysseus in 'Odyssey' expresses guilt over having broken the 'Law of Zeus'—a norm holding that hosts and guests must mutually trust, hospitality, and guarantee safety—which sustained the civilization of that era.

Other films by director Nolan, including 'Oppenheimer', along with 'Interstellar' (2014), which drew 10 million moviegoers 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 movie 'Odyssey' is receiving a positive response from audiences for its visual aesthetics that embody the magnificent worldview of Greek mythology.

In particular, it is the first film in cinema history to be shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, driving high popularity for IMAX theaters.

As of the previous day, 'Odyssey' has attracted approximately 8.017 million moviegoers, ranking 3rd at the box office among films released this year, following 'The King and the Man' (approximately 16.917 million) and 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' (approximately 8.344 million).

As of 9 a.m. today, its advance ticket reservation rate stands at the highest among current screening films at 66.5%, with about 572,000 moviegoers awaiting viewing.

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