Can Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey bring back the summer blockbuster?

Colin Sheridan explores whether Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey can revive the shared cinematic experience once defined by summer blockbusters

Matt Damon as Odysseus in 'The Odyssey', which is set to be the feature film of the summer.

Whatever happened to the summer blockbuster? Not the billion-dollar film, Hollywood still produces plenty of those. Nor the sequel, the reboot, or the latest instalment in an ever-expanding cinematic universe. The summer blockbuster in its original sense: the film that didn’t simply arrive in cinemas but somehow became part of the season itself. The one everybody knew was coming, whether they intended to buy a ticket or not.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opens next week amid enormous anticipation within the film industry. Advance IMAX screenings sold out almost as quickly as they were announced. Analysts expect one of the year’s biggest openings, while cinema lovers have spent months dissecting every casting announcement, location shoot, and trailer.