‘The Odyssey’ Just Proved Its Box Office Run Is Far From Over
Christopher Nolan has spent the better part of two decades training audiences to show up in theaters for his films, and 2026 is looking like his biggest test yet. After the awards sweep and box office dominance of ‘Oppenheimer,’ expectations for his next project were sky high, especially once word got out that his take on Homer’s ancient poem would be shot entirely on IMAX film cameras for the first time ever.
That ambition translated into a massive opening weekend. ‘The Odyssey’ launched to $123.5 million domestically and $263.7 million worldwide, powered by a sprawling ensemble led by Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and John Leguizamo. Reviews were glowing out of the gate, with critics praising the scale and craftsmanship of Nolan’s retelling of the Greek king’s long road home.
Now the numbers coming out of weekend two are turning heads for a different reason. ‘The Odyssey’ pulled in another $87 million domestically, a drop of just around 30 percent from its debut. That decline is remarkably small for an R rated blockbuster, since ticket sales for most tentpoles that open above $100 million typically fall by 50 percent or more in their second frame. Trade reports confirm the hold makes this Nolan’s best second weekend ever at the domestic box office, edging out ‘The Dark Knight,’ which earned $75.2 million in its own sophomore frame back in 2008.
The comparison to ‘Oppenheimer’ floating around online checks out too. ‘The Odyssey’ has now become the highest grossing R rated movie of the year, surpassing Nolan’s own ‘Oppenheimer,’ which topped out at $330 million domestically during its full run. Only ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ which earned $96 million in its second weekend back in 2024, still sits ahead of ‘The Odyssey’ among R rated films.
After two weekends in release, the film has climbed to $286.4 million domestically and $639.6 million globally. A significant chunk of that haul is coming from IMAX screens, with worldwide IMAX ticket sales alone reportedly hitting $140 million so far. That format loyalty tracks with how personally invested the cast seems to be in the project. Tom Holland, who plays Telemachus, called the shoot the job of a lifetime and praised working alongside Damon and Hathaway in an interview with GQ Sports, adding that he thinks the finished film is unlike anything audiences have seen before.
The real test comes next weekend, when ‘The Odyssey’ faces its first genuine competition since release. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ starring Holland and Zendaya, both of whom already appear in Nolan’s film, opens against it, and some analysts believe it could post the biggest opening weekend of the year. Whether Nolan’s epic can keep holding IMAX screens against a Marvel juggernaut carrying two of its own stars is the next big storyline to watch.
For a film built on the idea of a hero refusing to be knocked off course, ‘The Odyssey’ sailing past ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘The Dark Knight’ feels almost poetic. Do you think Nolan’s epic has the legs to keep outrunning Spider-Man at the box office in the weeks ahead?
