Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey Becomes His Highest-Grossing Film and IMAX Record-Breaker
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey has set two major box office records during its fourth weekend of release, reaching a global total of $1.1 billion to become the highest-grossing film of the director’s career. This high-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has overtaken the $1.08 billion earned by 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, based on unadjusted figures. Odyssey has also broken the record for the highest-grossing IMAX release in history, earning $289 million and surpassing the $271 million record previously held by 2009’s Avatar. According to Variety, the film is currently the second highest-grossing movie of the year, following Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which earned $1.67 billion globally. Odyssey also ranks as the second highest-grossing R-rated film in history, behind 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which earned $1.3 billion. Odyssey has grossed $461 million in North America and $643 million internationally. During its fourth weekend alone, the film earned $110 million globally, comprising $79 million from international markets and $31.5 million in North America. The film is set to open in China, the world’s second-largest cinema market, on 14 August, having already earned $6.3 million in advance screenings there. Starring Matt Damon as King Odysseus, the film is the first feature in history to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras. IMAX earnings in North America reached $147.3 million, with $141.8 million from international markets. Approximately 800 IMAX screens in China are expected to show the film. IMAX 70mm prints, Nolan’s preferred format, have accounted for $37.5 million of the film’s total revenue across only 41 screens worldwide, representing 14% of the total IMAX gross. Due to the limited number of 70mm venues, many screenings are sold out through September. Nolan previously established himself as one of his generation’s most bankable directors with the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Dunkirk, and Interstellar. His films have grossed a combined total of approximately $7 billion, with three—Odyssey, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises—surpassing the $1 billion mark. 2023’s Oppenheimer, Nolan’s first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, earned $975 million. Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, Universal’s president of international distribution, stated that Nolan’s global appeal makes him uniquely suited to adapt Homer’s ancient poetry, adding that Odyssey has connected with audiences worldwide as a global epic. IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond noted that the film’s performance has exceeded the company’s highest expectations and is on track to help deliver the best year in IMAX global box office history.