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The Odyssey may be more epic than Oppenheimer, but it's also shorter

Apparently, it takes less time to explain the most pivotal moments in Greek mythology than it does the invention of the atomic bomb. At least, that's what The Odyssey and Oppenheimer run times suggest

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed May 06 2026

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For a myriad of different reasons, it would be logical to see The Odyssey as Christopher Nolan's 'Biggest Film Yet.' It is filmed entirely for IMAX, after all, the first film in history to achieve such a feat, and depending on which celebrities you consider the biggest, it quite possibly has the most A-list, er, list for a Nolan movie to date. But there's one way in which The Odyssey will definitively not rank in Nolan's most ambitious projects yet: that is, its runtime.

It was Christopher Nolan himself that revealed this factoid to AP News in an article published April 28. "It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands," Nolan said of his adaptation of Homer's seminal piece of Greek literature. "But it is shorter."

Specifically, Nolan was comparing the runtime of his Anne Hathaway-starring epic with his Oscar-winning biopic Oppenheimer. And as you're probably already aware if you went to see that film in theaters, the story of the building of the atomic bomb and the man behind it clocked in at 180 minutes - 3 hours exactly, if you're counting it that way. That makes it Nolan's longest film to date, and the way things are going, it may just hold taht title for good.

But hey - did J. Robert Oppenheimer ever go toe-to-toe with a practical effects cyclops? Not in the version I saw, at least. So just keep that in mind if you're thinking any less of The Odyssey.

Which, in case you're wondering, will stomp into theaters July 17.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.