Christopher Nolan has done it again. Universal Pictures released the filmmaker’s latest cinematic epic “The Odyssey” in theaters this past weekend, and it more than delivered on expectations. This despite the fact that the expectations were sky high. “Oppenheimer” became the first blockbuster to win Best Picture in 20 years at the Oscars, after all, making nearly $1 billion worldwide. That being said, Nolan didn’t skip a beat with his follow-up.
“The Odyssey” opened to a bigger-than-expected $124.5 million domestically, serving as Nolan’s biggest debut in North America since “The Dark Knight Rises” opened to $160.8 million at the box office en route to $1.08 billion worldwide in 2012. Internationally, Nolan’s latest did even more business, pulling in an additional $139.5 million, giving it a $264 million global debut. That’s the biggest worldwide opening for any movie in Nolan’s prestigious career.
Ahead of opening weekend, “The Odyssey” was expected to have a bigger opening than “Oppenheimer,” with domestic estimates in the $100 million range. The R-rated $250 million fantasy epic based on Homer’s classic tale exceeded even those lofty projections. It’s now the biggest opening for an R-rated movie ever without “Deadpool” in the title.
So, what went right with this one? How is it that Nolan continues to be able to tap into what the moviegoing public wants to see? We’re going to look at the biggest reasons why “The Odyssey” ruled the box office on its opening weekend. Let’s get into it.
The Odyssey has been met with rave reviews
To say that Christopher Nolan has developed a reputation for delivering crowd-pleasers would be a bit of an understatement. He’s one of the rare filmmakers that works at the highest level, yet manages to please both critics and audiences alike in equal measure. That reputation once again served him very well with “The Odyssey,” as it’s been met with rave reviews across the board.
The movie currently holds a stellar 95% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with an even better 97% audience score. It also earned an A CinemaScore, which means word-of-mouth will likely be very, very good. It’s right up there with “Project Hail Mary” in terms of being one of the best-received blockbusters of 2026. That’s no small thing, especially since this is a more challenging, sweeping fantasy epic.
It centers on Odysseus (Matt Damon), the king of Ithaca, who embarks on a perilous journey to return home after the Trojan War. A series of deadly obstacles, mythical creatures, and various setbacks delay his return home at every turn.
/Film’s Chris Evangelista called “The Odyssey” a “massive epic” that is “both exhausting and exhilarating” in his review. That’s about as close to negativity as one is likely to find, and his take was ultimately very positive. That bodes very well for this movie’s chances beyond opening weekend. It’s going to have staying power.
Competition won’t be a problem for The Odyssey at all
One of the most frequently discussed parts of the success of “Oppenheimer” is that it opened directly against “Barbie” in the summer of 2023. The showdown became known as Barbenheimer, which was a bombshell box office success. “Oppenheimer” opened to $82 million domestically and legged out like crazy. A big difference for Christopher Nolan and Universal Pictures between then and now, though, is “The Odyssey” doesn’t have to contend with another big movie like “Barbie” — or any other big movies for that matter — for a couple of weeks.
No other major Hollywood releases arrived as counterprogramming alongside “The Odyssey,” giving it the weekend to do its thing. Beyond that, this upcoming weekend only sees a few niche releases in the form of “Pinocchio: Unstrung,” “Motor City,” and “Her Private Hell,” none of which are expected to do meaningful business. That means Nolan will get to rule another weekend almost entirely unabated, as Disney’s live-action “Moana” flopped at the box office and is fading fast. “Toy Story 5” and “Minions & Monsters” are also slowly beginning to fade, meaning they are non-factors.
It’s not until July 31 when Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” arrives that another blockbuster will hit theaters to take the crown away from Nolan. By that time, “The Odyssey” can absolutely afford to surrender it. What’s more, both movies can probably co-exist for a few weekends, especially since there aren’t any huge blockbusters coming our way in August. All of this to say, competition is pretty much going to be a non-issue for this movie for weeks, if not months.
That being the case, the sky is the limit. We could be looking at another $1 billion feather in Nolan’s cap when all’s said and done.
Universal successfully sold The Odyssey as a must-see cinematic event
For better or worse, in the modern theatrical marketplace, successful movies are essentially sold to the masses as must-see cinematic events. The days of people going to the movies simply because it’s a day that ends in y and they need something to do are mostly gone. Given that “The Odyssey” carries a whopping $250 million budget and an R rating, Universal needed to sell this movie as an event that the movie-loving masses had to see on the big screen.
Needless to say, Universal’s marketing department did its job. And it should go without saying that it would be very tough to accomplish this if Christopher Nolan hadn’t made a movie that nearly everyone seems to love. Universal did a ticket stunt for Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” selling premium format tickets a full year in advance. They sold like wildfire. That stunt made it clear long before anyone had even seen a trailer that this was not your average blockbuster.
The trailers also effectively leaned on the large-scale action, the incredible cast, and the spectacle that makes blockbusters worthy of leaving the house. Fantasy movies can generally be risky propositions and Universal didn’t lean very hard into those elements, instead leaning on the action and the epic scope of the tale at hand. It all worked like gangbusters, resulting in packed theaters across the world. And those theaters will likely remain packed for weeks to come.
The Odyssey got a major premium format boost
IMAX is more important to the box office than it’s ever been before. Studios literally fight for those screens as they are a precious commodity these days. Audiences are more than happy to pay the higher ticket prices for that experience, for the right movie. “The Odyssey” was absolutely the right movie, and it benefitted greatly from having IMAX and other premium format screens on its side.
“The Odyssey” was the first movie ever shot entirely with IMAX 70mm film cameras, and that was heavily leaned on in the marketing. It worked, as IMAX accounted for a record $52 million worth of the movie’s box office on opening weekend, or roughly 20% of its total ticket sales. That’s a massive number. It’s also just one premium format. This is to say nothing of 4DX, Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, or other premium formats in the marketplace that justify higher ticket prices.
Christopher Nolan’s movies are seen as cinema with a capital C for many people and they will happily shell out the extra money for IMAX, with 70mm tickets seen as almost a flex amongst cinephiles. That all went a long way in adding extra money to the movie’s bottom line and will continue to do so as “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” won’t be getting a big IMAX release, meaning that Nolan and Universal get to hang on to those screens for a good while.
Christopher Nolan is Hollywood’s biggest movie star right now
There is and has been a lot of talk about whether or not we even have true movie stars these days. Tom Cruise can’t carry that torch forever. Even Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s star power is fading. But in a lot of ways, Christopher Nolan is Hollywood’s biggest movie star, and he just proved it again with “The Odyssey.”
Not unlike Steven Spielberg, Nolan’s name really means something to audiences — even relatively casual moviegoers at this point. But whereas Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” didn’t live up to expectations at the box office, Nolan is delivering record-breaking grosses seemingly no matter what he does. “Oppenheimer” proved Nolan is one of the all-time best box office bets, as he pretty much never misses. “The Dark Knight” made $1 billion not just because it had Batman in it, but because Nolan was behind it.
Similarly, Nolan made “Inception” into one of the biggest original movies of all time in no small part because audiences trust him. Nolan holds an impressive box office record as the only director with five movies in a row making at least $500 million worldwide. Had “Tenet” not been released during the pandemic, that streak may very well have extended to eight movies now, once all’s said and done with “The Odyssey.”
Superhero movies. World War II epics. Original science fiction. Biopics. Massive fantasy motion pictures. It hardly seems to matter. Everything Nolan touches turns to gold. He’s in a league of his own.
“The Odyssey” is in theaters now.
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