Christopher Nolan's epic "The Odyssey" has become the highest-grossing film of his career, earning $1.111 billion worldwide as of this week and surpassing "The Dark Knight Rises," which took in $1.085 billion, according to box office figures.
In Greece, the film had sold 750,467 tickets as of August 9, while a new Kapa Research poll found 71% of Greek viewers rated the film positively or very positively, citing satisfaction and enthusiasm as their dominant reactions leaving theaters.
The survey found 90% of Greeks are aware of the film, with nearly half (48%) having discussed it with others.
Mr. Nolan's own popularity, reaching 64% among the general public and 90% among those who have seen the film, appears to have driven much of the engagement.
The poll's most notable finding concerned the film's perceived impact on Greece's international image: 79% of viewers said the production serves as significant promotion for Greece abroad, while 75% believe it will boost tourism.
Additionally, 72% said the film brought younger generations closer to ancient Greek literature, with 36% reporting it sparked family discussions about Homer and 31% saying it prompted comparisons with the original texts.
Visual effects (86%), the performances of Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway (85%), and Mr. Nolan's direction (81%) drew the strongest praise, while the film's overall adaptation of the Homeric epic scored lowest at 48%, suggesting Greek audiences remain demanding when it comes to fidelity to their cultural heritage.
The casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy proved more divisive, with opinion split evenly between positive/neutral and negative views overall (46%-46%), though support rose to 62% among those who had actually seen the film.
A majority (57%) said they were open to creative reinterpretations of ancient mythology, though opinion remained closely split (40%-39%) on whether artistic freedom should take precedence over faithfulness to the original text.