The hottest movie ticket right now is an ancient Greek epic poem—aka The Odyssey—and I think that’s beautiful.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan—fresh off his Oscar wins for Best Director and Best Picture for Oppenheimer—the 2026 Odyssey movie is a retelling of the famous Greek epic poem by Homer, which tells the story of Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and his long journey home after the Trojan War. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus himself, while Anne Hathway stars as his wife Penelope, and Tom Holland stars as his son Telemachus, who await his return at home. The all-star Odyssey cast also includes Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as Calypso, and Himesh Patel as Eurylochus.
The Odyssey has been a smash hit at the box office so far, with over $639.6 million at the worldwide box office. And that number just keeps going up. If you’re having trouble getting tickets to The Odyssey in IMAX and are worried about when The Odyssey will leave theaters, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to find out what we know about how long The Odyssey will be in theaters and what we know about The Odyssey digital release date.
How long will The Odyssey be in theaters?
We don’t know exactly how long The Odyssey will be in theaters, but it seems likely The Odyssey will stay in theaters until at least mid-to-late September, based on how well the film is doing at the box office, and based on Nolan’s influence and preference for long theatrical releases.
Right now, you can buy tickets for The Odyssey in theaters through August 21, but that will likely be extended. Nolan’s last film with Universal, Oppenheimer, ran for—on average, per theater—about 10 weeks in theaters. If The Odyssey follows a similar release strategy, you can expect to see it in theaters through September 25.
This is all speculation. How long a movie will stay in theaters varies widely by title. While box office is a factor in how long movies stay in theaters, it is not the only factor. It also depends on how many other big movies will crowd out The Odyssey screenings, and whether theaters might want to feature those movies, instead. Other big movies coming out include Spider-Man: Brand New Day and A24’s Anthony Bourdain biopic. It will be up to the various theaters to decide how many screens to devote to these newer movies, vs. how many screens to use to keep showing The Odyssey.
So even though we think it’s likely The Odyssey will be in theaters for at least another month-and-a-half or so, we’d advise you not to wait if you want to see it on the big screen.
When is The Odyssey digital release date?
The Odyssey digital release date has not yet been announced, but we can make an educated guess as to when we might see The Odyssey on digital to buy and rent. Nolan’s last box office hit for Universal, Oppenheimer, came to digital about four months after opening in theaters.
If The Odyssey follows a similar release strategy, you might see The Odyssey on digital to buy and rent around late November 2026.
Where will The Odyssey movie be streaming for free?
After The Odyssey comes to digital to buy and rent, you will see The Odyssey streaming on Peacock, because it is a Universal film, and Universal movies first stream on the NBCUniversal owned streamer, aka Peacock.
Peacock currently offers two subscription types: Premium with ads and Premium Plus ad-free. Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month, while Premium Plus costs $16.99/month.
You can save a bit by subscribing to one of Peacock’s annual plans, which give you 12 months for the price of 10. These cost either $109.99 with ads or $169.99 without ads.
Peacock Premium Plus is also available to subscribe to via Prime Video with a seven-day free trial that you can’t get by subscribing directly on Peacock.
The Odyssey streaming release date on Peacock has not yet been announced, but you will likely see the The Odyssey movie streaming on Peacock in late 2026 or early 2027. Oppenheimer went to Peacock about seven months after it opened in theaters. If The Odyssey follows the same release strategy, you might see The Odyssey streaming on Peacock around February 2027—just in time for the 2027 Oscars.
