Universal reacts to 'The Odyssey' leaks on social media
Los Angeles, July 27
Piracy continues to be a major challenge for both the Indian film industry and Hollywood. Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has become the latest to online piracy. Despite being released only a week ago, the movie was reportedly leaked and widely circulated across multiple social media platforms.
Most recently, a lower-quality version was posted on X Sunday morning, but was pulled down roughly two hours later, only after garnering nearly 50,000 views, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal Pictures responded to the film's leak on social media.
"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," the statement read.
Despite the pirated films, The Odyssey is still dominating at the box office, sailing past $600 million globally in its second weekend.
The film, based on Homer's ancient Greek poem, follows King Odysseus' (Matt Damon) dangerous voyage back to Ithaca after the Trojan War, including battles with mythical creatures, as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
The film also stars 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.
— ANI
Reader Comments
The leak happened within a week of release - that's alarming 😔 I remember the same thing with Pathaan and Jawan. Studios need stronger security measures at print processing labs. Our Indian distributors should learn from Universal's quick takedown response though.
Honestly, I'm guilty of watching a leaked copy once, but I regretted it - the quality was terrible and I couldn't appreciate Nolan's visual storytelling. I ended up going to IMAX anyway! People think pirated copies are the same experience, but they miss out on the magic of theater.
Universal's response is strong, but let's be real - by the time they took it down, 50,000 had already seen it. The OTT release window also fuels piracy because people don't want to wait 3 months. Just release it on streaming sooner, studios! 😤
Matt Damon as Odysseus? Nolan always picks the right actors. Wonder how they'll adapt the Cyclops scene - it's going to be spectacular on Imax! Also happy to see Indian audiences supporting this, the box office numbers show the film is a hit even with the leak.
Universal should've been smarter about digital security. A camrip leaking is one thing, but a decent quality version suggests someone from inside the distribution chain leaked it. These things devalue the hard work of thousands of artists who poured their hearts into this film.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.