Will *The Odyssey* Revive Classic Movie Magic?

A Cultural Renaissance in Music City

From the Parthenon Symposium event with classics scholar Jackie Murray on July 28 to the Spirits of the Summer cocktail and Greek-myth themed music extravaganza by the Nashville Symphony on August 14, numerous Music City cultural institutions are playing into the hype around the upcoming Christopher Nolan film about the most epic journey in Greek mythology. Excitement is so widespread it reminds some cinephiles of another time.

In the world of cinema, the 1970s were the golden age. If you’re a movie fan, you’ve heard the stories. Lines were wrapped around the block to get tickets for “The Godfather,” “The Exorcist,” “The Last Tango in Paris,” “Jaws” and “Star Wars.” Those films created the chase for opening weekend box office dollars. In Nashville, where a replica of the Parthenon draws tourists to Centennial Park and the city’s nickname was once “The Athens of the South,” the interest in “The Odyssey” is expected to be comparably huge.

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Film-going was the dominant cultural event in decades past, measured by box office ticket sales. If you wanted to see a 7 p.m. blockbuster (a World War II bombing term that became a movie term in the 1970s after lines snaked around whole blocks), you had better be in line by 2 p.m. Seats were unreserved. Movie palaces were packed.

This rabid fandom phenomenon may happen again beginning July 17 when “The Odyssey” opens nationwide. The movie has an all-star cast, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Elliot Page.

The Belcourt Theater is preparing for sellout crowds.

“Advance ticket sales are strong (we gave away specialty Odyssey hats to the first 100 ticket buyers when tix went on sale — patrons started lining up an hour in advance),” said Belcourt Theater executive director Stephanie Silverman in an email statement. “Christopher Nolan’s skill as a storyteller combined with his commitment to film and to theatres means a lot to our audiences.”

Theaters across town will be showcasing this film, with each venue offering its own advantages. Nolan made cinematic history shooting “The Odyssey” on 70mm IMAX film, the first-ever feature film shot this way. And the Regal Opry Mills is the only theater in the middle Tennessee area equipped to screen the film in this specific large-format celluloid format.

Whether audiences prefer the intimacy of Belcourt, which also offers a special screening opportunity on July 16, or the visual spectacle of that larger IMAX film, moviegoers know that Nolan is no stranger to creating a cultural phenomenon and using innovative filming techniques to do it.

On July 21, 2023, Nolan’s film “Oppenheimer” opened the same day as Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” creating the term “Barbenheimer” and global trend where fans watched both movies back-to-back. Time magazine reported more than 200,000 film fans bought tickets to both movies on that opening day.

People wore pink or black to see the films, depending on their personalities. There were Barbenheimer parties across America. “Oppenheimer” was nominated for 13 Academy Awards (winning seven), while “Barbie” was nominated for eight (winning one).

According to The Parthenon’s assistant director, The Parthenon will celebrate the movie release by offering both a free virtual symposium and a free screenwriting workshop connected to ‘The Odyssey’ in July 2026. Petrole added that approximately 321,000 visitors came in 2025 to the museum and event space inside the full-sized replica of the monument, in addition to the 7,857 people who participated in the organization’s educational programs so far in 2026.

“We have online resources (the recorded symposium and exhibition) on the Odyssey and Wilson’s translation of the Iliad (by Lisa Bachman) on our website,” Petrole said.

Surging interest in ancient Greece extends to Nashville’s public libraries as well.

“We have seen a sharp increase in requests for Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ in advance of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film based on the book,” said librarian Joan Brasher, adding that there are dozens of people waiting to borrow multiple ebooks, audiobooks, and print books on the topic. “We regularly see this phenomenon with book-tie-in movie releases, and we plan ahead for the expected increase in demand.”

Even with all the buzz surrounding the Hollywood flick, there may not be lines at the theater like the old days. Today, we have online ticketing, reserved seating and about a half-hour of trailers and commercials that allow crowds to flow in without waiting at the box office.

But will the excitement rank with the all-timers?

“The Godfather,” “The Exorcist,” “Jaws” and “Star Wars” dominated the 1970s. Star Wars sequels, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T. the Extra-terrestrial,” “Ghostbusters” and “Batman” dominated the 1980s.

The lines-around-the-block phenomenon faded in the 1990s. There were still huge movies like “Jurassic Park” and “Titanic,” but not with the packed-arena feeling of previous decades. Still, moviegoers across Nashville are loading up on popcorn.

The early 2000s saw the rise of the episodic blockbusters like the Harry Potter, Twilight and Lord of the Rings films. And it remains to be seen if “The Odyssey” in 2026 will surpass all the similar films that came before it, like “The Return” in 2024 and the modern retelling in 2000, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Both garnered acclaim from cinephiles but were considered more art-house than blockbusters. This newest adaption has the potential for mainstream appeal.

“Christopher Nolan’s skill as a storyteller combined with his commitment to film and to theatres means a lot to our audiences,” Silverman said, adding that the first 100 ticket-buyers got commemorative hats from Belcourt and that buyers lined up in front of the theater hours before tickets went on sale, more than a month in advance. All things considered, Nashville may be about to have an epic summer at the movies.