'The Odyssey' leaks online in HD; Universal responds
What's the story
Christopher Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, has reportedly been leaked online. A high-quality bootleg of the movie was shared by an anonymous account on X (formerly Twitter) on July 25. The post quickly went viral, racking up millions of views in just a few hours before it was taken down by the platform. The X account was also suspended. Universal Pictures has since responded to the incident.
Viral leak
'The Odyssey' leak adds to trend of film leaks
The leaked version of The Odyssey was reportedly a full two-hour and 53-minute film.
The post had climbed to over 2.1 million views before it was taken down by the platform, per Variety.
This incident adds to the growing list of films that have been pirated and leaked online on X in recent years, including Margot Robbie's Barbie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and Avatar 3.
Official statement
Universal Pictures issues statement on leak
In response to the unauthorized posting of The Odyssey, Universal Pictures issued an official statement.
"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," it said, per Variety.
Prank trend
Online pranksters merge 'Rickroll' with leaked clips
In the wake of The Odyssey's online release, fans have taken to pranking people by "Rickrolling" them.
This popular online prank involves merging two videos to mislead the viewer.
Some of the leaked clips started with the production company's official logo scenes from The Odyssey but quickly shifted to playing singer Rick Astley's 1987 song Never Gonna Give You Up.
Box office success
Box office collections of 'The Odyssey'
Despite the leak, The Odyssey continues to perform well at the box office.
Sacnilk reports that the film has closed in on $640 million in global box office earnings against its overall budget of $270 million within its first 10 days.
In India, the film's total net box office collections stand at ₹142.86 crore, while the total net collections are ₹119.65 crore.