Inside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: The Staggering Numbers Behind Cinema’s Most Ambitious Epic | Today’s news

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey was always intended to be epic, but the scale of the production is perhaps best understood by the numbers behind it: 172 minutes, 91 shooting days, six countries and a reported budget of $250 million.

Here are the numbers for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

At 172 minutes, Odyssey is one of Nolan’s longest films, though it remains slightly shorter than his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, which ran for 180 minutes.

“It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands,” Nolan told The Associated Press. “But it’s shorter.

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Six countries, 91 days and one demanding production

Filming took place in Greece, Italy, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland and the United States. Although the production was originally scheduled for 100 shooting days, filming ended after 91 days, ending ahead of schedule.

Nolan said, “I found that after 100 days there were very diminishing returns. We ended up a little early because a lot of things broke for us in terms of weather or getting the conditions that we needed or wanted to do specific shots.”

For Nolan, authenticity was central to the production. He said: “For me, when I’m on location filming certain things, like the crew going out on a ship or going through a storm, I want it to feel almost like a documentary.

A film shot on a huge scale

The production captured approximately 2.1 million feet of IMAX film, an amount that the creators say exceeds the distance between Toronto and New York.

“Shooting on 70mm IMAX film really makes the screen disappear,” explained Nolan. “You get a 3D feeling without the glasses.”

Working with IMAX cameras brought its own challenges. Each roll of film only allowed about 2.5 to 3 minutes of continuous shooting before a reload was required.

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“It’s an expensive camera. You have two and a half minutes for each roll of film, so you have to get it in and keep it moving,” said Lupita Nyong’o.

The camera system alone, including its specialized noise-reducing enclosure, weighed approximately 300 pounds.

Thousands of costumes and accessories

Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick oversaw the creation of 5,300 costumes with the support of 175 artisans in Los Angeles and more than 500 artisans from around the world.

The scope extended to the film’s battle sequences. Around 2,000 props were used to recreate the siege of Troy, while several 35-foot-tall Trojan horses were built for the production.

Actor Himesh Patel recalled how he was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the scenes being filmed.

“The number of actors and extras is kind of unfathomable,” he said, describing one of the early battle sequences.

Mountain climbing and boat rowing

The production’s commitment to realism often required physical exertion on the part of the cast and crew. Filming the scenes set in Ithaca required a daily 45-minute climb up the hill to Castello di Santa Caterina.

Actor John Leguizamo hiked only once. He said: “One day I was on a trip. I thought I’m not going to do this again.” I took the helicopter.”

Meanwhile, Matt Damon and other members of the cast trained at a rowing camp to operate the 115-foot long Draken Harald Hårfagre, a Viking longship used as Odysseus’ vessel.

“All the actors had to learn to row. We had to really move this hundred-ton ship,” Damon said.

Music, mythology and a quarter billion budget

Composer Ludwig Göransson rented 35 bronze gongs to develop the film’s score, which he combined with traditional instruments such as the aulos and lyre to create a distinctive sound inspired by the ancient world.

The production also filmed in Greece’s Cave of Nestor, whose 95-foot-long interior was used for the Cyclops sequence. Nolan revealed that Francisco Goya’s painting Saturn Devouring His Son influenced the creature’s design.

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The film stars four Oscar winners – Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o and Matt Damon – and is based on a poem containing 12,109 lines, which Nolan studied in several translations while writing the script.

With a reported production budget of $250 million and a limited IMAX 70mm release in just 32 locations across the United States and Canada, The Odyssey ranks among the largest and most technically ambitious productions of Nolan’s career.

The film will be released in theaters on Friday, July 17, 2026.