A high-quality bootleg of Christopher Nolan's film "The Odyssey" was viewed more than 2.1 million times on the social media platform X before it was taken down less than three hours after being posted. The pirated version appeared on Saturday and was replaced with a takedown notice, and the account that posted it was suspended.
On Sunday, a lower-quality copy of the film was also removed from X after accumulating nearly 50,000 views in two hours. As of Monday, some posts on X purported to offer illicit copies of "The Odyssey" but instead led users to a "rickroll," a long-standing internet prank involving Rick Astley's 1987 song "Never Gonna Give You Up."
A spokesperson for Universal Pictures confirmed that the studio initiated takedown protocols upon learning of the leak. "We take copyright infringement seriously and will pursue all appropriate remedies to protect our content and intellectual property rights," the spokesperson stated.
The film's studio is unlikely to be significantly impacted by the unauthorized distribution, as "The Odyssey" continues to perform strongly at the box office. In its second week in theaters, the nearly three-hour film grossed $87 million domestically, driven by high demand for IMAX 70 mm tickets. The film's opening week brought in $124.5 million, making it the third-highest debut of the year, despite its R rating limiting its audience.
The demand for IMAX 70 mm screens, of which there are only 40 worldwide, is a major factor in the film's box office success. This demand has led to tickets selling out months in advance, with some fans reportedly paying significant amounts to scalpers for re-sold tickets.
In parallel, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who owns X, has publicly criticized Nolan's casting choices in "The Odyssey," alleging they were made to increase the film's chances of receiving Academy Award nominations. Musk specifically retweeted posts that questioned the casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Eliot Page as a Greek warrior. Musk has stated that his AI tool Grok Imagine will produce a "historically accurate" version of "The Odyssey" later this year.
Nolan's 2023 film "Oppenheimer," which featured a predominantly white cast, won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 2024 awards ceremony.