Based on Christopher Nolan’s filmography alone, I always assumed The Odyssey would be a hit. Then, when his stacked cast got announced, there was no doubt in my mind this movie would be a very big deal. Now that it is out and a certified megahit, I’ve been wondering if Matt Damon also knew this book-to-screen adaptation of Homer’s epic would be a phenomenon. Well, now he’s answered that question, and he did it in a way that’s really satisfying. It always seemed like The Odyssey was “destined to be a smash hit,” as a reporter from GQ put it. However, when he said those words to Damon, the actor responded by saying, “There are no sure things, man.” That led to the question of when exactly the Ocean’s Eleven actor knew he’d been part of a major sensation. Here’s what the Oscar winner had to say: I felt it when I saw it. There is that thing that can happen where you make a movie, and you feel like it’s really good, and it just doesn’t connect, and there’s just nothing you can do about that. But as the audience reactions started to come in and the critical reactions were great as well, it was like, Okay….This certainly makes sense. I’m sure everyone can relate to the feeling of thinking you’ve done something great and then finding out it didn’t get the reactions you expected. However, in the case of The Odyssey, it was outstanding, and Damon realized that when he saw it. That fact was then solidified when The Odyssey’s first reactions came out, and then it was really validated when its stellar reviews were published.Then, the box office made it abundantly clear that this film was one of the biggest hits on the 2026 movie schedule. Overall, The Odyssey made $1.7 billion worldwide, and $625 million domestically. At the time of this writing, that makes it the second-highest-grossing movie of the year behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, again, while this seemed like it would happen, anything could have happened. So, it makes sense why Damon wasn’t super quick to say he’d made a hit. It also makes sense why Christopher Nolan got nervous right before the movie premiered, as the Odysseus actor explained: Chris [Nolan], the most nervous he is in the entire process, from the very beginning to the very end, is the eve of the film coming out. He’s genuinely nervous. He talks openly about it, because that is the moment that you put it out into the world and you have to live with the reaction. Ultimately, the audience decides. Once it opened and the responses were what they were, I think I felt like, We’re going to be okay. It was a big bet in the sense that it was a big budget. I’m not used to playing in that arena. The numbers that movies have to get to just to break even at that level are just so beyond the movies that I’m known for.The Odyssey had a reported budget of $250 million, per Forbes. It also reportedly had a $125 million marketing budget. To break even, the movie had to make between $625 and $750 million, per the outlet. That’s no small feat, and the film managed not only to make its money back, but it ultimately made well over a billion dollars worldwide. Knowing the risk and the literal cost of this film, it’s satisfying to see Damon talk about how he felt in the lead-up to the release. While it seems he knew what he was making was special, it’s impossible to know that’s the case until it’s done and the world has seen it. And for him to recall what it was like to see audiences embrace this movie is very cool. Well, now the world has seen it, and people love it. Thankfully, the actor and director know that, too. Now, I have a feeling this phenomenon will continue into awards season, as The Odyssey and Damon are likely going to be major players in next year’s Oscars race. Which leads me to the question: When will Matt Damon realize he could be a contender for an Academy Award?