Universal is rolling out the heavy artillery for the final week of The Odyssey campaign.
NBC has announced that The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will hand its couch to Christopher Nolan’s mythic epic for four straight nights, July 13 through July 16, right before the movie opens July 17.
Tom Holland kicks things off Monday, July 13. Matt Damon follows Tuesday, Zendaya takes Wednesday, and Lupita Nyong’o closes out the week Thursday, July 16, the night before release.
NBC’s announcement also puts the roles in writing: Holland as Telemachus, Damon as Odysseus, Zendaya as Athena, and Nyong’o pulling double duty as both Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, settling the question of who Nyong’o plays once and for all.
It also means Universal is giving the most argued-over casting in the movie the final word of the week.
Nolan Takes The Couch After The Numbers Are In
Nolan himself is booked for Thursday, July 23, six days after release. By the time the director sits down in Studio 6B, opening weekend will already be in the books. That’s also the first day of the San Diego Comic-Con.
Travis Scott, who landed in the film thanks to Nolan’s self-described “crazy idea”, hits the show Tuesday, July 21, with John Leguizamo booked for Wednesday, July 22.
Expect Holland’s Monday spot to pull double promotional duty as well. Spider-Man: Brand New Day lands July 31, and Holland has already credited The Odyssey with almost saving that movie.
A Charm Offensive With A 650,000 Dislike Problem
The four-night takeover lands in the middle of the ugliest pre-release stretch of Nolan’s career.
As of this week, the Countdown Trailer sits at more than 650,000 dislikes on YouTube, extending its run as the most disliked trailer Nolan has ever put out.
Glowing first reactions out of London calling the film a triumph didn’t slow the count. Universal had already locked replies on X when the number crossed 450,000, and the studio skipped influencer screenings entirely on the way to the premiere.
Late night is the next lever. Four nights of A-listers on network TV aims straight past the YouTube comment section at the general audience that actually buys tickets, which is the only crowd left to win.
One Number Settles It
Tracking has the opening at $80 million to $100 million domestic, ahead of the $82 million start Oppenheimer posted in 2023, and the latest Quorum data gives a read on where awareness and interest actually stand with ticket buyers.
Whether a week of Fallon couch time moves those numbers gets answered fast.
The Odyssey, shot across the world with brand new IMAX film cameras and bringing Homer to IMAX film screens for the first time, opens everywhere July 17. The Tonight Show airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and streams next day on Peacock.
For more, head on over to everything we know about The Odyssey.
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