Matt Damon's Star-Studded Sci-Fi Epic Officially Makes a Major Streaming Comeback

5 days ago 28

Matt Damon smiling while looking at the camera

Published Oct 24, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 3000 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom. You can also hear Jake every week as the resident film and TV journalist on Track Radio.

After years of being Christopher Nolan's bridesmaid but never his bride, featuring in ensemble roles in the likes of Interstellar and the Best Picture-winning biopic Oppenheimer, Matt Damon finally got the chance to take the spotlight for the director in his most ambitious film yet, an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey. Of course, as with any Nolan film, Damon is far from the only big star involved. The cast also features Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, and more, with Anne Hathaway likely to get a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as the wife of Damon's King of Ithaca, Penelope.

Hathaway's potential nomination is one of many the film has been touted to achieve, with some even predicting it will beat the nominations record set earlier this year by Ryan Coogler's Sinners. This comes following The Odyssey's incredible box office run this summer and beyond, with the film earning more than $1.7 billion worldwide and becoming the 11th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide. It is also Nolan's biggest movie of all time, overtaking his only other billion-dollar hits, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

As the sparkle on The Odyssey's record-breaking theatrical run fades, attention has turned to another Damon hit. 2011's Contagion, the viral pandemic thriller which has become a new eerily realistic watch following the events of 2020, is currently the second-most-viewed movie on HBO Max in the world. Also featuring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, and more, Steven Soderbergh's thriller is a big hit once again after scoring a respectable $137 million at the 2011 box office.

What's the Most-Watched Movie on HBO Max?

If it weren't for a 2026 horror movie, Contagion would be topping the global HBO Max charts. Instead, the streaming crown goes to Infested director Sébastien Vaniček's Evil Dead Burn, the sixth movie in the Evil Dead franchise that, of course, features a cameo by Bruce Campbell. The movie turned its reported $20 million production budget into more than $70 million in a quietly strong theatrical run earlier this year, before becoming one of this Halloween's most popular streaming titles.

Contagion is a streaming hit on HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.