How far will the box office and popularity phenomenon of 'The Odyssey 2026' go?
On its 27th day since release, the film The Odyssey 2026, which surpassed 9 million viewers and is maintaining its hot box office momentum, is drawing attention as it aligns with Korean audiences' distinctive "love of Greek and Roman mythology."
Those born in the 1990s, who memorized the names of gods and immersed themselves in heroes' adventures through books, comics and animation in childhood, have grown into the main 20s-30s audience at cinemas, and their long-familiar enjoyment of Greek and Roman mythology is naturally continuing into Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey 2026.
In fact, in Korea the children's educational comic series dealing with Greek and Roman mythology saw cumulative sales surpass 1.2 million copies in 2022, showing that Greek and Roman mythology has been steadily loved across generations in various forms from comics and study guides to games, broadcasts and educational content. On social media, reactions linking childhood memories and film viewings have continued, with comments such as "Those born in the 1990s who grew up reading Greek and Roman mythology can't resist The Odyssey 2026," "I finally learned what comes after volume 18 of the Greek and Roman mythology series," and "I didn't know Agamemnon was such a cool character," and the pleasure of encountering the familiar mythic world anew on the big screen has drawn strong audience response.
This interest is expanding beyond cinemas to original texts and related content. Audiences who met familiar myths from a new perspective through The Odyssey 2026 are looking for translations of Homer's Odyssey as well as introductory and commentary books that explain the work's background and myths in an accessible way, and graphic novels, forming a new content consumption flow that explores the mythic world more deeply.
According to Kyobo Book Centre, sales of books with related names such as "The Odyssey 2026" and "Odysseyia" in July increased about 600% year over year, sparking a hot "screen seller" craze. In addition, SNS content that evokes the myths encountered in childhood comics, from empathy content for those born in the '90s' to parodies and memes comparing characters from past comics and films, is spreading actively around social media and creating additional entertainment.
Having revived Greek and Roman mythology, which has become a generation's nostalgic memory, as an overwhelming grand narrative on the screen, The Odyssey 2026 is drawing attention to how far the box office phenomenon will continue as it rides on the memories and empathy of the "Greek and Roman mythology kids."
Having surpassed 9 million viewers, The Odyssey 2026 recorded 310,000 advance ticket sales in its fifth week, expanding its buzz from cinemas to bookstores and online and continuing its relentless box office run.
Meanwhile, according to Box Office Mojo, The Odyssey 2026 recently earned about $563.8 million in North America and $988.8 million overseas, totaling roughly $1,553 million worldwide. In Korean won, that amounts to a staggering 2.1276 trillion won. The worldwide box office ranking rose to 14th, surpassing Marvel's Avengers (2012).<
[Photo] Universal Pictures
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