Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has become the defining film conversation of the summer, attracting debate from critics, academics and online audiences as well as strong ticket sales. Its cultural impact matters because it has achieved the kind of broad, shared attention increasingly rare in a fragmented entertainment landscape.

The film has already outgrossed Nolan’s Oppenheimer and is approaching $1bn worldwide, despite lacking superhero branding, sequel momentum or animation appeal. Its audience became almost evenly split by gender after opening weekend, three-quarters of viewers are over 25, and younger audiences have engaged through memes; meanwhile, several major superhero, remake and animated releases have struggled to feel like comparable events.