The Odyssey storms global box office with $264m opening
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- The Odyssey earned $264m globally and $124.5m in North America in its opening weekend, ranking as Nolan's biggest debut outside the Batman franchise (beating The Dark Knight Rises' $249m global opening) and the third-largest domestic opening of the year after Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
- Universal Pictures had projected only a $100m domestic opening, a figure The Odyssey exceeded by roughly $24m in North America alone despite its R rating restricting the audience — men made up 56% of ticket buyers and 75% of those over 25.
- The UK and Ireland led international markets with a £12.9m ($17.4m) debut, while the film rolled out across 73 markets, 12,800 locations, and 26,000 screens worldwide including 440 IMAX screens, with premium large formats accounting for 53% of North American box office.
- The Odyssey is the first feature film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, and the format proved a draw — London's BFI IMAX sold out for opening weekend with fans arriving as early as midnight and 4am to catch screenings.
- Christopher Nolan told the Guardian he won't make another film for at least three years, saying the Odyssey shoot left him 'desperate to have a period I have nothing to do,' and noting the $250m project only became possible after Oppenheimer's financial and critical success.
- The Odyssey scored an even bigger global debut than Nolan's 2023 Oppenheimer (which ended up making $975m), with the adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek poem starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton and Charlize Theron.
Why it matters: With a $250m production budget and Nolan's own admission that Oppenheimer's success was the prerequisite greenlight for this project, the $264m opening comfortably exceeds Universal's $100m domestic projection — but sustained turnout over coming weeks is needed to recoup costs on Nolan's first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras and prove the format-first gamble works at scale.
