Teens and tweens hoping to find out if Odysseus makes it home to Ithaca are going to need to bring a parent or adult guardian to the multiplexes.
“The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan‘s sprawling adaptation of Homer’s epic poem, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association. It’s unclear why the picture got this designation (we’re guessing some minotaur carnage and body-count heavy battles?). It’s unusual for a summer blockbuster to carry an R-rating lately — studios typically try to have their action-heavy adventures earn PG-13 or PG ratings so they can play to the broadest audience possible.
However, Nolan’s last film, “Oppenheimer,” had an R rating and was released in the heart of summer. It went on to gross nearly $1 billion at the global box office. Other Nolan summer films like “Inception,” “Dunkirk,” “Tenet” and the “Dark Knight” trilogy all received PG-13 ratings.
Universal, which partnered with Nolan on “Oppenheimer,” is distributing “The Odyssey.” It opens on July 17 — a summer stretch where many of the directors other films have found success. “The Odyssey” reportedly carries a budget of 250 million, so it will need to bring in crowds. It ranks as perhaps the most expensive R-rated movie in history, topping the likes of “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” In addition to Nolan, one of the biggest names in movies, the cast includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Anne Hathaway.
Exhibitors believe “The Odyssey” will be one of the summer’s biggest films. Tickets for IMAX 70 mm screenings went on sale last year and quickly sold out. That’s a sign of Nolan’s commercial firepower and the excitement to see how he tops the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer.”
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