The Odyssey slays haters with giant opening weekend box office
If there was any doubt that some rabble rousers on the ultra-right was going to dampen enthusiasm for The Odyssey, that has been slayed.
It’s not going to be a long and perilous journey for The Odyssey to achieve box office success.
The Christopher Nolan drama based on Homer’s epic poem has defied already high expectations and came in with a $US264 million worldwide opening weekend.
That’s the most any Nolan movie has opened at, not adjusted for inflation. The previous record holder for the British filmmaker was The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, and that was the concluding film in his Batman trilogy.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The Odyssey opened in the top spot at Australian cinemas, the highest debut weekend of the year so far. Here, it sold $13.4 million worth of tickets. By comparison, Oppenheimer in 2023 opened locally at $9.4 million, and that had been boosted by the Barbenheimer effect.
In the US and Canada, The Odyssey took in $US124 million, which was more than projections of $US80 million to $US100 million.
One thing that has bolstered the numbers for The Odyssey is that it is selling very well in what the industry calls premium large format screens such as IMAX. The film was the first to ever be completely shot on IMAX film, which is a compelling reason for cinemagoers to fork out for those pricier tickets.
Oppenheimer went on to gross almost a billion dollars at the box office by the end of its run, and with The Odyssey opening $US90 million higher than its predecessor, there’s optimism that this Matt Damon-fronted film will be even more commercially successful.
Nolan has previously said that he was only able to convince the studio to back his vision for The Odyssey after Oppenheimer’s box office power. Getting close to the billion-dollar mark is very rare for an adult drama that wasn’t part of an existing franchise.
The Odyssey reportedly had a production budget of $US250 million, and an expensive marketing and press campaign which Variety put at $US125 million. Its extensive ensemble cast has been on the hustings on a tour that has made stops in London, New York City, Seoul, Mumbai, Beijing and Paris.
The estimated break-even for the film – the studio takes half the ticket sales, the cinemas keep the other 50 per cent – would be in the $US700 to $US750 million range.
The Odyssey was one of the most anticipated films of 2026 after Nolan’s status as a star filmmaker was cemented by Oppenheimer. He is viewed by many as more of a drawcard for audiences than any of his A-list cast.
There was also little sensible opposition to The Odyssey prior to release, except for some noise from culture warriors on the right, led by Elon Musk, who objected to the film’s diverse casting. Those threats of boycott seems to have had little to no effect in dampening enthusiasm from moviegoers.
The Odyssey tells the story of Homeric hero Odysseus as he tried to make his way home to Ithaca after the decade-long Trojan War. It would take him 10 years to complete the journey after he and his crew are waylaid.
The film features an ensemble of top tier actors, many of whom have previously worked with Nolan, including Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Samantha Morton, Lupita Nyong’o and Jon Bernthal.
The Odyssey is expected to be a dominant presence during the awards season, just as Oppenheimer was.
