Heading toward 6 million, 'The Odyssey 2026' has become a cultural phenomenon beyond a simple film.
Not only has it not given up the No. 1 spot at the box office and in advance ticket rates for a single day since its release, but in its third week the film 'The Odyssey 2026,' which even exceeded 500,000 advance ticket sales, is continuing an unwaning box office fervor and sparking an "Odyssey syndrome" across Korea's cultural scene beyond movie theaters.
The unstoppable box office fever of 'The Odyssey 2026' has extended to the publishing world, leading to a powerful "screen-seller" phenomenon.
According to Kyobo Book Centre, in July the sales of books that included work-related names such as 'The Odyssey 2026' and 'The Odysseyia' increased by about 600% compared with the same period last year. Also, as of Tuesday the 18th, original-work-related books ranked No. 2 on both Kyobo Book Centre's and YES24's combined bestseller lists for the second week of August, proving strong interest.
This enthusiasm is not limited to specific editions but extends broadly from children's and young adult editions to various translations and e-books. On the domestic reading platform Millie's Library, the daily average searches for 'The Odyssey 2026' after the film's release rose 3.3 times compared with before release, and searches for "Greek and Roman mythology" increased 3.6 times. This is the largest increase compared with recently film-adapted works based on originals such as 'Project Hail Mary' and 'The Old Woman with the Knife,' showing that interest in the film 'The Odyssey 2026' is expanding into curiosity about the original work and Greek mythology overall.
Beyond publishing, the exhibition world is also responding to the 'Odyssey boom.' The special exhibition "Greece, a great civilization shaped by the sea," which opened Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the National Institute of Fisheries Science Incheon Maritime Museum, deeply highlights the 6,000-year history of ancient Greece, including the story of "Odysseus," drawing visitors' attention. In particular, the bust of Homer, the author of the original 'The Odysseyia,' and exhibits related to Agamemnon, a major character in the film, are catching the eyes of moviegoers and offering a novel way to enjoy the work more deeply. The overwhelming 'The Odyssey 2026' syndrome is also spreading online. On the YouTube channel "SBS old entertainment – Backneung," a remastered live stream of the animation "Olimpos Guardian," which deals with Greek and Roman mythology, is being broadcast. That program is consistently recording about 600 to 800 or more viewers and drawing interest. Through 'The Odyssey 2026,' audiences who encountered the grand worldview of ancient Greece are naturally extending their interest to Greek and Roman mythology–related content.
The box office-dominating ''The Odyssey 2026'' craze has stimulated the public's intellectual curiosity and is rapidly spreading across the cultural sector, including publishing, exhibitions and new media. Beyond the screen, it has sparked new interest in the original work and mythology and is establishing itself as a cultural phenomenon this summer.
Meanwhile, 'The Odyssey 2026' surpassed 5.5 million cumulative domestic attendees, and it is maintaining an advance ticket rate of 700,000. In addition, global box office revenue has far exceeded $1.29 billion (about 1.7931 trillion won), knocking 'The Dark Knight Rises' from the top and becoming director Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing film to date.<
[Photo] Universal Pictures
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