Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” launched with an estimated $124.5 million in domestic ticket sales and another $139.6 million from overseas, notching an even better debut than “Oppenheimer” and marking the filmmaker’s best opening since 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Nolan flexed his singular box-office might with a global debut unlike any other. Few filmmakers alive could pull off a starry, big-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. But in a Hollywood where intellectual property rights rule most hits, Nolan turned one of the world’s oldest works of literature into an unlikely summer blockbuster.
The Universal production was no small gamble on Nolan, coming off the 2023 best picture-winning “Oppenheimer.” With a production budget of $250 million, it’s among the most expensive R-rated movies ever made. Universal is spending some $125 million to market it.
But no behind-the-camera name turns out audiences more than Nolan's. So great was the hype on “The Odyssey” that IMAX put tickets on sale for some 70 mm showtimes a full year in advance. To satisfy the extraordinary demand for Nolan's preferred format, IMAX 70 mm, some theaters added midnight and 3 a.m. screenings — and sold them out.
Billed as Nolan’s first feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the format drove a huge slice of ticket sales. That included $29.6 million domestically on IMAX and $51.8 million globally, leading to the company's best weekend ever. IMAX is dedicating its screens entirely to “The Odyssey” for three weeks. Though only 41 IMAX screens can screen “The Odyssey” in 70 mm, they accounted for $6.3 million in ticket sales.
Since the pandemic, Nolan has been at the forefront of reviving cinemas. His “Tenet” was one of the first big releases to wade back into theaters in 2020. Three years later, “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” combined to create arguably the movies’ signature moment of the decade. “Oppenheimer” ultimately grossed $975 million worldwide.
“The Odyssey” arrived in theaters during Hollywood’s best summer since 2019. Ticket sales are running about 10% ahead of last year, according to Rentrak. The industry is expecting the first $10 billion year at the domestic box office since the pandemic.
The only question for “The Odyssey” will be how front-loaded it is, given that many moviegoers have had this weekend circled for months. The film faced no new-release competition over the weekend, and it won’t next weekend, either. IMAX said that presales for the movie's second weekend would rank among their 10 best presales, proof that many moviegoers are waiting to see the film in their preferred format.
The next movie to pose any competition, ironically, also stars Tom Holland and Zendaya: Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on July 31.
“The Odyssey” stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and features Holland as his son, Telemachus; Anne Hathaway as Penelope; Zendaya as Athena; Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous and Charlize Theron as the sea nymph Calypso.
Nolan’s casting of “The Odyssey,” including Lupita Nyong’o as Helen and Elliot Page as a soldier, was controversial to some conservative commentators. Elon Musk called Nolan a “coward” over Nyong’o’s casting.
But that criticism had little to no effect on “The Odyssey” becoming one of the big-screen cultural events of the year. Reviews (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) are among the best of Nolan’s career. Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore.
