Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has overtaken “Avatar: The Way of Water” in local-currency terms to become the highest-grossing international release in Korean box office history, with a cumulative KRW139.2 billion ($101.5 million) as of Oct. 11.
Jungkook of BTS, TXT’s Soobin and members of Riize were among the Korean stars who recommended the film of their own accord, fueling conversation on social media. Content created voluntarily by influencers and YouTubers generated an estimated KRW1.27 billion (about $1 million) in earned media value, while sales of books linked to “The Odyssey” rose 30-fold after release.
Nolan also became the first international film director to appear on Korea’s non-drama buzzworthiness chart, a ranking usually filled by local television personalities and entertainers. Each new batch of Imax tickets brought congestion on CGV’s servers, followed by fresh sellouts.
