The occasion wasn’t specifically dedicated to cinema: Charlize Theron was at the Block Party that raised funds for the charity bearing her name, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project for South Africa (from where the actress hails, as a reminder). Theron, however, felt she had to respond to those who asked about the enormous success of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, a film that, in Italy alone, surpassed 57 million euros at the box office, a figure that in the period just after the pandemic would have seemed impossible. What does Calypso have to say?
For Charlize Theron the Odyssey success tells us something about the audience
For a while many seriously believed it: the pandemic had accelerated the expansion of streaming, cinema seemed to have its days numbered. Today that process has slowed, investments in streaming are no longer booming, the majors are rediscovering the cinema, perhaps even taking on a bit of risk with a minimal guarantee. In the case of Universal and Odyssey, a blockbuster with few digital effects centered on a tormented, modern Ulysses (Matt Damon), it involved a budget of $250 million invested in a project detached from trendy brands. The minimum guarantee was Christopher Nolan, capable of blending blockbuster spectacle with auteur cinema like few can, and the bet paid off with a worldwide gross of over $1.72 billion. Charlize Theron, who in the film plays Calypso, regards it as a signal: “It’s gratifying to see that people want to go to the cinema. They want to move to go see the films: if we ever asked ourselves, we shouldn’t do it again. I see that my industry is very worried about the future, about what will happen. In my view we needed this reminder [we couldn’t resist the Nolan wink, sorry, editors’ note]: people love going to the cinema to watch films. […] We hope that Christopher is not the only one to create this situation. I know that he also hopes not to be the only one. If there is one thing to hold tight, it is the signal of encouragement. And I know for sure that he hopes for situations similar to his.”
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