Less than two weeks after the premiere of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, pirated versions of the film have begun circulating widely across social media platforms.
A lower-resolution version of the film appeared on X on Sunday morning, accumulating nearly 50,000 views before being removed approximately two hours later. The post subsequently displayed a notice stating, “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”
The issue escalated on Saturday when a higher-quality version of the movie trended on X, garnering millions of views and thousands of reposts. The content was eventually removed, and the associated account was suspended. Social media users expressed shock at the availability of the film, with one user commenting, “Someone upload ‘The Odyssey’ full movie on X. Can you believe it?” after resharing the leaked footage.
Addressing the situation, Universal Pictures issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “We became aware of the unauthorized posting of the film and immediately initiated takedown protocols. We take copyright infringement seriously and will pursue all appropriate remedies to protect our content and intellectual property rights.”
Piracy is a common challenge for major studios during the release of highly anticipated blockbusters like The Odyssey, and distributors typically prepare countermeasures ahead of wide theatrical launches.
Beyond targeting individual links and posts, studios work to combat large-scale piracy within the broader digital ecosystem. The efficiency of content removal on social media platforms varies; notably, X has faced criticism for the speed and difficulty of its response to copyright enforcement requests.
Despite these piracy attempts, The Odyssey continues to see massive commercial success, surpassing $600 million at the global box office during its second weekend of release.
An adaptation of Homer’s epic Greek poem, the film follows King Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his perilous journey back to Ithaca following the Trojan War. His voyage includes encounters with mythical creatures as he strives to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). The ensemble cast also features Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Corey Hawkins, Jon Bernthal, Samantha Morton, Travis Scott, and Benny Safdie.