‘The Odyssey’ Closes in on $1.8 Billion but Remains Just Short of the All-Time Top 10

Universal Pictures

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Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ has already rewritten the record books this year. The epic adaptation of Homer’s poem became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever worldwide, Universal’s biggest global release and the most successful movie of Nolan’s career.

The film’s run has been remarkable from the start. It opened to $264.1 million worldwide in July, crossed $1 billion in about 3 weeks, and finished its domestic run with $625.6 million after 105 days in North American theaters.

Now ‘The Odyssey’ is approaching another major number. According to Box Office Forecast, the film has climbed to roughly $1.799 billion worldwide, putting it on the verge of the $1.8 billion mark.

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The account’s chart shows ‘The Odyssey’ easily outpacing several recent blockbusters and Nolan’s own past hits. Its growth curve sits well above ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Inception’, ‘Interstellar’ and ‘Dunkirk’. The film currently ranks as the 11th-highest-grossing film of all time, according to Wikipedia’s tracking. That leaves it tantalizingly close to the all-time top 10.

The film standing in the way is ‘Zootopia 2’. Disney’s animated sequel grossed $1.870 billion worldwide, making it the 2nd-highest-grossing animated film ever and placing it inside the all-time top 10.

That leaves ‘The Odyssey’ roughly $70 million short. With its theatrical run winding down, Box Office Forecast joked that closing the gap might require a re-release, playfully calling for ‘The Odyssey: Encore’.

The joke nods to Disney’s recent ‘Avengers: Endgame’ re-release, which returned to theaters under the ‘Encore’ banner earlier this fall. Even without a top 10 finish, ‘The Odyssey’ is an enormous success. The film had a reported production budget of $250 million, with break-even estimates ranging from $625 million to $750 million.

Its global total puts it far beyond that range. International markets have contributed around $1.17 billion, with the film’s China release in August adding to its momentum. The film also became IMAX’s highest-grossing release ever, surpassing ‘Avatar’. As the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, it drew crowds to premium screens for weeks, with IMAX 70mm showings selling out.

‘The Odyssey’ easily surpassed ‘Oppenheimer’, which earned about $975 million worldwide. It’s also Nolan’s first film to pass $1 billion since ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. Matt Damon leads the cast as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o. The film’s success has now turned into a major Oscar campaign, with Universal pushing it in 16 categories.

‘The Odyssey’ heads to digital, 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray in mid-November, which will likely bring its theatrical run to a close. Barring a re-release, its final total should land just under the top 10. Still, few films have had a run like this one. For Nolan and Universal, ‘The Odyssey’ has become one of the defining blockbusters of the year.

Should The Odyssey get a theatrical re-release to chase the all-time box office top 10?

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