Nolan's Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day Brought Back the Magic of Cinema. And It's Not Just About FOMO

There's one thing that has struck me more than box office numbers in recent months: people are back in cinemas.

And I'm not just saying that because Christopher Nolan's Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are racking up huge results. I'm saying it because that feeling that seemed to belong to another era has returned: the film everyone is talking about, the packed house, the hard-to-find ticket, the desire to be there.

Nolan's Odyssey: when cinema becomes an unrepeatable event

Nolan, after his latest masterpiece Oppenheimer, winner of seven Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Lead Actor, and Supporting Actor, has returned with a gigantic work dedicated to Homer's Odyssey, revisited by himself. A film conceived for the big screen and shot entirely with IMAX technology, including 70mm film.

And it's precisely the film's format that has transformed Odyssey into something even more desired. 70mm screenings are very few, and when an experience becomes rare, the public seeks it out even more. The result? Nolan has surpassed a billion dollars, making Odyssey his most-watched film ever. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Tom Holland's return after five years

Then there's Spider-Man.

Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker after No Way Home, five years later, with a film that truly represents a new beginning for me. Brand New Day is more mature, more self-aware, and, of the four chapters with Holland, the one I found most balanced. There are new characters, connections to the past, and above all, many possibilities for the Marvel future.

And the audience responded immediately, with a huge opening that confirmed how Spider-Man continues to be one of the most beloved characters of all time. 

But in my opinion, stopping at the quality of the two films would be reductive.

Because there's another element that has contributed to bringing people back to cinemas: FOMO: Fear of Missing Out. The fear of missing the moment.

"Have you seen it?"

"I saw it in IMAX."

"I saw it in 70mm."

"I saw it in its original language."

The film suddenly, and above all, also becomes a social experience. You don't just want to see Odyssey, but you want to be there while everyone is talking about it. You don't just want to see the new Spider-Man chapter, you want to participate in the conversation.

And I don't think it's necessarily only a negative thing.

The magic of cinema doesn't need FOMO to exist

For some years now, we've had the ability to watch practically everything from the couch. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO and other platforms have completely changed our habits. Cinema, especially after Covid, had to win back its audience.

And perhaps these two films reminded us of a very simple thing:

cinema is not just the film, but it's much more: the journey to the cinema, the lights dimming, the huge screen, the sound, the people around you, and that feeling that, for a few hours, everything else ceases to exist.

It's the magic many of us knew before streaming became the norm.

That's why I want to say thank you to Nolan and thank you to Spider-Man.

Thank you for bringing back enthusiasm, discussions, packed houses, and that healthy desire to return to a big screen.

But without forgetting one fundamental thing: we shouldn't go to the cinema because we're afraid of missing out on something.

FOMO can be the reason that pushes us to buy a ticket, but it must not become the reason why we experience a film.

Cinema is not a trend. It's not a status symbol. Cinema is magic. And magic doesn't need everyone to be experiencing it at the same time.

It just needs us to be there to experience it when it arrives.