Ryan Reynolds Has Nothing but Praise for Christopher Nolan After ‘The Odyssey’ Dethrones ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Box office records rarely stay put for long, especially when a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan is involved. For nearly two years, one particular crown belonged to Ryan Reynolds, and it seemed like the kind of achievement that might stick around for a while.

That record officially changed hands last month, and now Reynolds has weighed in with his own reaction, delivered in classic gracious-yet-cheeky fashion. The Deadpool star was out promoting his own upcoming project when the topic came up, giving him the perfect moment to address the shift publicly.

Ryan Reynolds praised Christopher Nolan after ‘The Odyssey‘ passed ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, calling Nolan’s film incredible and describing the director as someone who breathes the rarest air on Earth. Reynolds made the comments at the ‘Mayday’ premiere on Tuesday night, according to Variety.

He didn’t stop at praising Nolan alone, extending the compliments to the film’s cast as well. Reynolds specifically singled out Matt Damon and Tom Holland, joking that Holland is clearly batting a thousand stars with Zendaya, before pivoting to a broader point about the state of moviegoing itself.

According to Reynolds, what matters most is that people are showing up to theaters at all, regardless of the reason. He added that there’s no better shared experience than sitting in a theater with an audience, framing the record change less as a rivalry and more as a win for the industry overall.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ had held the title of highest-grossing R-rated movie since its 2024 release, finishing its run with a global total of roughly $1.338 billion. That number stood untouched until ‘The Odyssey’ crossed it in August, eventually climbing to around $1.352 billion worldwide and continuing to add to that total through additional international releases.

Nolan’s three-hour adaptation of Homer’s epic opened domestically on July 17 to $123.5 million, a figure that ranked as his third-best domestic opening behind only ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ The film has continued performing well into its run, crossing $500 million domestically by its fifth weekend while only dropping 27 percent, a sign of unusually strong staying power for a film of its length and rating.

Interestingly, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ still holds onto one record Nolan’s film hasn’t touched: the biggest global and domestic opening weekend for an R-rated movie, with $444.7 million worldwide and $211.4 million domestically. That distinction highlights just how differently the two films built their totals, with Reynolds’ movie leaning on a massive opening and Nolan’s relying on sustained weeks of strong ticket sales.

This wasn’t the first time Reynolds addressed losing the record. When news broke that ‘The Odyssey’ had officially overtaken his film, he posted a congratulatory message on social media paired with a clip from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ referencing the Honda Odyssey minivan featured in one of the film’s fight sequences.

His comments at the ‘Mayday’ premiere continued that same good-natured tone, mixing genuine admiration for Nolan’s filmmaking with his signature humor. It’s a response that fits Reynolds’ public persona well, treating even a lost box office record as an opportunity for a laugh rather than a moment of frustration.

The timing also worked in Reynolds’ favor, giving him a platform to discuss the shift while promoting ‘Mayday,’ his Cold War-set buddy comedy alongside Kenneth Branagh premiering globally on Apple TV. Between the two moments, Reynolds has made it clear that watching another filmmaker succeed doesn’t bother him, especially when it’s someone he clearly respects as much as Nolan.

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