What you will find in the article:
- The Odyssey film premiered on July 17, 2026, in the US.
- Matt Damon stars as Odysseus in this epic adaptation.
- Marketing partnerships include collaborations with Klipsch and Hamilton.
- New advertising campaigns draw inspiration from the film's themes.
- The film achieved over USD 640 million in global box-office revenue.
The film The Odyssey is an adaptation of Homer’s epic about the return of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, from the Trojan War. The screenplay was written and the film directed by Christopher Nolan, who approached the story as an almost three-hour mythical action epic.
Nolan’s adaptation follows Odysseus on his dangerous journey home after the end of the Trojan War. Before the premiere, the director emphasised that his aim was not to create a classroom interpretation of Homer, but an adventure film accessible both to those familiar with the epic and to viewers who had never encountered the original text. The Odyssey also became the first feature film shot entirely using IMAX 70 mm film cameras. Nolan relied on practical effects, real ships, large-scale crowd scenes and filming in several countries, including Greece, Italy, Iceland and Morocco. Matt Damon, who plays the lead role, described working on the film as the most physically demanding experience of his career to date.
The film opened in US cinemas on 17 July 2026 and in Czech cinemas a day earlier, on 16 July. Its global release exceeded initial expectations. After its second weekend, worldwide box-office revenue was around USD 640 million, surpassing USD 650 million in the following days. In the Czech Republic, it delivered the strongest opening weekend of 2026 and, after ten days, had generated approximately CZK 60.7 million, according to data from the Union of Film Distributors.
Marketing Partnerships: From Surround Sound to Watches and Cars
The new film is, of course, accompanied by official marketing collaborations. Klipsch and Onkyo became exclusive global partners in the audio technology category. The partnership builds on the connection between Nolan’s film, the IMAX format and home surround sound. As part of the collaboration, Klipsch also introduced a limited-edition portable speaker featuring graphics from the film. Watchmaker Hamilton collaborated with Christopher Nolan to create the limited-edition Khaki Field Auto The Odyssey. The watch is not a traditional product placement. It is a standalone product inspired by the film’s world and visual style. Its promotion draws on motifs of myth, bronze, armour and the hero’s journey. Carmaker JAECOO, meanwhile, linked the film’s UK release with its Super Hybrid System technology. The brand presented the connection as a celebration of travel, endurance and discovery, using it primarily to promote the JAECOO 7 SHS and JAECOO 8 SHS-P models. The partnership was announced shortly before the film entered UK cinemas.
The Film Triggered a Wave of Advertising Campaigns
The exceptional audiovisual experience, familiar mythological motifs and even the title itself have – quite naturally – become inspiration for a variety of advertising activities. But The Odyssey has attracted not only brands involved in official partnerships. Let us take a look at new advertisements launched in connection with the film’s premiere, as well as older commercials that worked with the idea of an odyssey long before Nolan’s adaptation.
The new “The SUV Built for Epic Journeys” campaign from JAECOO connects the cinematic idea of a great and dangerous journey with the promotion of hybrid SUVs. The official UK partnership was announced approximately one week before the premiere. The campaign is an example of how a cinematic hero’s journey can be translated into automotive advertising without the vehicle appearing directly in the film. The brand’s models are placed in dramatic landscapes, while the campaign works with travel, overcoming obstacles and technology designed to help occupants go further.
Video: The SUV Built for Epic Journeys
In connection with the new film, Hamilton introduced a limited-edition watch in the dark-toned campaign “A Timepiece Born from Myth”. Its visual style works with metal textures, bronze tones and details referencing the film’s armour and the world of Odysseus. The watch was created directly in collaboration with Christopher Nolan. Hamilton has a long-standing relationship with the director and has previously supplied period watches or created special props for his films. In this case, however, the watch was not designed for a film character, but as a limited edition inspired by the completed cinematic world.
Video: Hamilton – A Timepiece Born from Myth
Klipsch used its association with the film in the “Epic Sound That Defies the Gods” campaign, which translates the grandeur of Nolan’s Odyssey into the world of home audio. The campaign connects the film’s monumental imagery with the surround sound of speakers, amplifiers and home cinema systems. It also includes a limited-edition portable speaker featuring graphics from the film.
Video: Klipsch – Epic Sound That Defies the Gods
Non-alcoholic beer brand BERO, co-founded by Tom Holland, who plays Telemachus, also seized the opportunity surrounding the film’s premiere. As part of its campaign, it released a limited edition of Noon Wheat beer featuring packaging decorated with illustrations inspired by the ancient world and the film. The cans featured motifs including the Trojan horse and Odysseus’s ship. The campaign thus connected the new film, one of its actors and collectible product packaging.
Older TV Commercials Featuring the Odyssey Motif
One of the most famous older advertisements to use the theme of an odyssey is the “Odyssey” commercial launched by Levi’s at the beginning of the millennium. In it, a young man runs towards a wall and breaks through it. He gradually moves through additional rooms and overcomes new obstacles until a young woman joins him. Together, they finally break through the last wall and leap into an open landscape. The advertisement does not directly refer to Homeric characters or specific episodes from the epic. Instead, it treats the odyssey as a symbolic journey towards freedom and the breaking of boundaries, supported by the slogan “Freedom to Move”. The commercial was created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty and directed by Jonathan Glazer. Preparation and production took approximately six months, while the demanding execution involved breaking through a total of sixteen walls. Visual effects were handled by Framestore. The advertisement won numerous industry awards, including a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions, and is still regarded as one of Levi’s most memorable commercials.
Video: Levi’s – Odyssey
The theme of an adventurous journey also featured in “The Odyssey”, a 2014 commercial by Heineken. Its hero boards an ocean liner and, during the voyage, demonstrates one unexpected skill after another. He dances, jumps into a swimming pool, takes part in a limbo contest, slides down a railing and gradually captures the attention of the other passengers. Although it appears that all of these feats are performed by one man, the character is actually portrayed by twenty different performers in succession. The advertisement was created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam as part of the long-running “Legends” platform. The individual protagonists were not professional actors, but people selected during casting on the basis of their real-life skills. The switching between twenty men reinforced the campaign’s central message that everyone can be exceptional at something. The commercial ran on television as well as across digital media.
Video: Heineken – The Odyssey
A similarly spectacular experience was offered by the 2019 “The Seven Worlds” campaign for Hennessy X.O cognac. Although the campaign does not use Homeric characters or the word odyssey directly, it applies a similar principle through a sensory and transformative journey into unknown worlds. Viewers gradually pass through landscapes formed from fire, stone, water, light and abstract beings, with each world representing one element of the cognac’s flavour profile. The advertising film was directed by Ridley Scott and created by agency DDB Paris. Alongside a several-minute digital version, a one-minute television edit was also produced and aired during the 2019 Academy Awards broadcast. The campaign received numerous industry awards and attracted particular attention for its cinematic treatment, which resembled a short film more than a conventional product advertisement.
Video: Hennessy X.O – The Seven Worlds
Matt Damon as a Film and Advertising Star
Advertisements featuring Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus in the film, form a chapter of their own. Brands draw not only on his charisma and acting popularity, but also on his long-standing friendship with Ben Affleck, his credibility and his involvement in charitable projects. Over the years, the famous actor has promoted a wide variety of products – from coffee, beer and fast food to cryptocurrency.
Among the most recent advertisements featuring Matt Damon is “David & Dave: The Other David”, which Stella Artois aired during the 2025 Super Bowl. In the commercial, David Beckham discovers that he has a fictional brother in the US named Dave, played by Matt Damon. The advertisement builds on the contrast between Beckham’s polished image and Damon’s relaxed demeanour. It was directed by Ben Affleck and Brandon Pierce and produced by Artists Equity, the company Affleck founded together with Damon.
Video: Stella Artois – David & Dave: The Other David
Damon also appeared in “The DunKings”, a commercial launched by Dunkin’ during the 2024 Super Bowl. In it, Ben Affleck forms a boy band, dresses Matt Damon and Tom Brady in striking tracksuits and together they perform in front of Jennifer Lopez. The advertisement draws on Affleck and Damon’s long-standing friendship as well as a reference to the film Good Will Hunting. Production was handled by Artists Equity, while the campaign was also supported by themed merchandise including DunKings tracksuits.
Video: Dunkin’ – The DunKings
Courage, travel and pushing beyond existing boundaries were emphasised in the 2021 “Fortune Favours the Brave” advertisement by Crypto.com. Matt Damon walks through a futuristic gallery of human history, recalling sailors, mountaineers, aviation pioneers and astronauts. The spot culminates on the surface of an alien planet and compares entering the world of cryptocurrency to historic journeys into the unknown.
Video: Crypto.com – Fortune Favours the Brave
Matt Damon is no newcomer to advertising. Back in 2013, he appeared alongside George Clooney in a commercial for Nespresso. Clooney arrives at a social event and immediately attracts the attention of a group of women. To make his way unnoticed to the coffee machine, he points out Matt Damon’s presence. The crowd instantly moves towards Damon, allowing Clooney to prepare his espresso in peace. The advertisement drew on the actors’ real-life friendship as well as their previous film roles together.
Video: Nespresso – In the Name of Pleasure
Damon’s advertising roles are highly diverse in both genre and theme, but they share one thing in common: brands benefit from his ability to come across simultaneously as a Hollywood star and as an approachable, trustworthy personality. In connection with his role in The Odyssey, the first reactions have already begun to appear. A number of critics praise the fact that he does not play the character merely as a fearless warrior, but also as a tired, vulnerable and morally conflicted man shaped by war and his own decisions. Some reviews describe the performance as one of the strongest of Damon’s career. Early reactions have even included speculation about an Academy Award nomination or victory. Other responses are more reserved and point out that the film’s portrayal of Odysseus weakens the cunning, ruthlessness and moral ambiguity familiar from Homer’s epic.
Regardless of the differing views on the portrayal of its protagonist, it is already clear that Nolan’s The Odyssey has attracted extraordinary attention and gone far beyond the scope of an ordinary film premiere. Alongside a spectacular cinematic experience, it offers a wealth of images and motifs that may become another source of inspiration for advertising creatives. After all, if any story can continue to inspire filmmakers, brands and audiences around the world after almost three thousand years, it is the story of Odysseus’s journey home.
Sources: reuters.com/matt-damon, reuters.com/business, praguereporter.com, klipsch.com, jaecoo.co.uk, hamiltonwatch.com