Christopher Nolan's new blockbuster "The Odyssey," drawing on Ancient Greek mythology, has boosted streaming interest in Zack Snyder's 2006 film "300," another stylised take on Greek history and myth. The two directors' careers have intertwined since the mid-2000s, when both landed major studio breaks working on Greek-themed projects for Warner Bros, and they later collaborated directly on 2013's "Man of Steel."

Nolan was originally attached to direct "Troy" before stepping away, with Wolfgang Petersen ultimately helming the film; he has now returned to Greek material with "The Odyssey." Warner Bros had worried "Troy" and "300" were too similar to justify backing both, but Snyder won the studio over with striking test footage. "Troy" grossed nearly $500 million worldwide in 2004 against a $185 million budget, while "300" took around $480 million globally in 2006 on a much smaller reported budget of roughly $70 million.