Multiple sources reported that a pirated version of Christopher Nolan’s three-hour epic retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey went viral via X (the former Twitter), days after its theatrical release. The video and its hosting account were taken down and suspended a few hours later.
Various reports set the total number of illegal viewings at a range between 2 and 3 million. According to reporting by The Hollywood Reporter, a lower-quality, version popped up later and also taken down after about 50,000 views.
Financial impact to the rights-owner
As of Monday July 27, The Guardian reported that the film had grossed more than $600 million in theatrical release. But if the typical movie theatre ticket costs US$20, the loss to piracy could have been as much as $60 million.
Clickbait scams targeting consumers
The anti-virus software company Malwarebytes reported that its platform detected two types of attacks against consumers:
“One used fake pop-ups claiming your browser was missing a required “component.” Clicking Fix It Now routed visitors into a malvertising network. Exactly where those redirects ended depended on whatever campaign the network was serving at the time.
“The second involved a file advertised as The Odyssey 2026 1080p WEBRip-LAMA. Once downloaded, however, it turned out to be an .exe file. That’s a Windows application, not a video.”
Why it matters
This case underscores that piracy has its consequences, both to rights holders and to the general public. Malwarebytes found that pirates used promises to view The Odyssey to draw consumers to malicious advertising, and to a movie download torrent that actually was a malware executable.
Meanwhile, well aware of potential losses, Universal Pictures issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, that “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 owner of the X platform, Elon Musk, has been critical of the movie’s cast.
Further reading
Unauthorized version of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey shared on X. Article. July 27, 2026. by Dan Milmo. The Guardian
Universal responds to ‘The Odyssey’ leaks on social media. Article. July 26, 2026. by Carly Thomas. The Hollywood Reporter.
