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The Odyssey film fans inspired to go back to the source
Sir Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey has been a major box office success, taking $264m (£198m) globally on its opening weekend, and has also driven a sharp rise in interest in Homer's original poem. UK print sales have risen by 700% compared with the same week last year, while audiobook listening figures have surged, with narrations by Sir Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen entering the charts. This crossover from cinema to classical literature has surprised booksellers and highlighted the film's cultural reach, particularly among younger audiences.
Almost 8,000 print copies were sold in the UK last week, bringing the year's total to 47,000, a 95% year-on-year increase, according to NielsenIQ BookData, with Waterstones reporting "phenomenal" demand for Emily Wilson's 2017 translation, one of Nolan's cited sources. Spotify audiobook listens have risen roughly 680% since the film's Friday release, with over 80% of listeners being Gen Z or millennials. The film itself broke UK Imax opening-weekend records, taking £12.6m domestically, and was the first theatrical release shot entirely on Imax 70mm cameras, though only three UK cinemas can screen it in that format. Wilson welcomed the renewed interest but noted Nolan's version omits some themes central to the original poem.
In short
- Nolan's Odyssey film boosts book and audiobook sales of Homer's poem
- UK print sales up 700% year-on-year; Spotify listens up 680%
- Film breaks UK Imax box office records amid rare 70mm screenings
Explained simply
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek poem traditionally attributed to Homer, set after the Trojan War. It follows Odysseus’s long journey home to Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and son Telemachus face uncertainty in his absence.
The poem has shaped later storytelling for centuries, and its episodes include encounters with the Cyclops, the Sirens and the goddess Circe. Readers can choose from many translations, which differ in style and in how they render the original Greek.
Christopher Nolan’s film draws on the poem but is a modern adaptation, so it may select or change parts of the story. Comparing the film with the poem can show how an ancient work is reinterpreted for new audiences.