Charlize Theron says The Odyssey is Hollywood's reminder that cinemas still work
Charlize Theron told Hollywood to stop worrying about empty cinemas.
Speaking on Sept 19 at her sixth annual Block Party on the Universal Studios Backlot in Universal City, she said the industry had grown anxious about its future and needed a reminder that audiences still love watching films in a theatre, she told The Hollywood Reporter. People do want to go out to see movies, she said.
Her example was close to home. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, in which Theron plays Calypso, has taken more than $1.6 billion worldwide since its mid-July debut, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sept 20. Worldwide here means ticket sales from the United States and Canada plus all other markets. The film has become Universal's highest-grossing release ever.
That run was powered by big screens. Screenings in IMAX 70mm, the extra-large format printed on film, sold out weeks in advance, a rush Theron pointed to as proof of the demand for a cinema night out.
Theron plays Calypso, a nature spirit from Greek myth, in the film. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, with John Leguizamo as Eumaeus. Theron has described the part as "refreshing" to take on and called the cast around her "incredible," she told Entertainment Tonight.
The setting for her comments was a charity night, not a premiere. The Block Party on Sept 19, 2026 supports the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, according to a Reuters Connect listing for the event. Theron founded the organisation in 2007. It says its work has reached close to 5 million people across South Africa, with a mission to strengthen the health and safety of young people in Southern Africa.
What makes this stand out is the pairing. One night brought together a fundraising drive built over almost two decades and a box-office result that few releases ever reach. For fans, this means the debate about cinemas is not abstract. It is about tickets bought, seats filled and a charity that keeps using its spotlight to draw a crowd.
