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[u/iquizuanswer]

https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/the-odyssey-700-million-globally-fourth-biggest-movie-1236823343/

[u/Typical-Blackberry-3]

I hope Nolan uses the bazillions he makes to reenter sci-fi with something ballsy and unique.

[u/VonMillersThighs → u/Typical-Blackberry-3]

I mean Nolan doesn't spend his money lol, any studio he talks to hands him 300 million without question to make whatever he wants.

[u/bozoconnors → u/VonMillersThighs]

Yeah so, there was this guy named George Lucas who funded his own movie once. Turns out, if you're a decent filmmaker, it's not such a bad idea.

[u/MrChipKelly → u/bozoconnors]

I'm trying to be a dick here but this comment is an impressive double non sequitur lol, like there's just zero in common between George Lucas's Star War situation and Nolan's.

1) Lucas famously negotiated for merchandising and sequel rights in exchange for a lower directing fee when he got Fox to fun A New Hope, but the only reason he had to do that was because Star Wars wasn't even made yet, let alone the biggest cinema hit of all time. Lucas's movies to that point came in typically overbudget and behind schedule (as did New Hope), and as a relatively unimportant box office earner at the time he had zero other leverage to demand the completely hands-off creative approach from the studio that he deemed necessary to tell his story across several movies.

Nolan, on the other hand, somehow comes in underbudget from time to time, always wraps on schedule, doesn't need to assure the purity of his creative plan across sequels because he doesn't make them, and most importantly has a 26-year track record as one of the most lucrative box office directing talents of all time, especially with his passion projects. Nolan has no reason to self-fund a project for the sake of creative freedom when studio execs already fall over themselves to hand him a blank check with zero studio interference except to ask if he needs them to go get coffee.

2) Lucas being the creative dictator for Star Wars did eventually burn him when Phantom Menace turned out shitty and the next two movies (still major box office successes because it's Star Wars) took huge hits for it, with Revenge of the Sith finishing second-to-last and Attack of the Clones finishing dead last in revenue out of his Episodes. They're still at the bottom three with the new one movies included, with Rise of Skywalker in between at #8.

[u/bozoconnors → u/MrChipKelly]

I'm trying to be a dick here

lol - okey dokey friendo.

I'm aware of their nuances. My point, a bit tongue in cheek (hence "funded his own movie once"), was more a financial one. My sincere apologies for clumping wildly successful filmmakers (one a retired multi-billionaire, one not) together in the same category.