‘The Odyssey’ Just Sailed Past ‘Inception’ to Become One of Nolan’s Biggest Korean Hits Ever
Christopher Nolan has never been shy about chasing box office history, and his mythological epic ‘The Odyssey’ has spent the better part of August proving why South Korea has become one of his most reliable markets. Since the film debuted in the country and drew more than 290,000 moviegoers on its opening day to take the top spot at the local box office, it has refused to slow down.
Led by Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside a cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, and Zendaya, the film follows the Greek king’s long and perilous road home after the Trojan War. Nolan recreated the mythical settings and figures from Homer’s original poem largely without relying on computer generated imagery, a choice that has clearly resonated with Korean audiences well beyond its first weekend.
That staying power turned into a genuine milestone over the country’s recent holiday stretch. According to industry accounts shared online, ‘The Odyssey’ pulled in a massive $4.8 million on its second Monday in theaters, the biggest second Monday haul for any Hollywood film in Korean box office history, with takings actually climbing 138.5 percent from the previous Monday thanks to strong word of mouth and the holiday boost.
With that surge, the film has now crossed $40 million cumulatively in Korea, racking up nearly 5.2 million admissions in just thirteen days since its release. That pace has already let ‘The Odyssey’ surpass the entire $39 million domestic run of Nolan’s own ‘Inception’ in South Korea, making it the director’s second highest grossing film in the market to date, trailing only ‘Oppenheimer’.
The admissions numbers are just as striking as the dollar figures. The film’s admissions total has now overtaken ‘Aquaman’s’ five million total admissions in Korea, positioning ‘The Odyssey’ to enter the all time top forty admissions list for Hollywood films in the country, with the movie on track to potentially pass both ‘Joker’s’ 5.3 million and ‘Black Panther’s’ 5.4 million total admissions.
Nolan’s epic hasn’t had the field to itself either. ‘The Odyssey’ has led the South Korean box office for a second consecutive weekend, outperforming ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ with $13.2 million earned from more than 1.6 million admissions across 2,114 screens, good for a 59.07 percent share of the weekend market. Beating a Marvel juggernaut two weekends running is no small feat for a nearly three hour, R rated retelling of a 2,700 year old poem.
Globally, the film has also rewritten Nolan’s own records, having landed 2026’s biggest live action opening weekend with $123.5 million domestically and a $263.7 million global launch, the director’s highest grossing worldwide opening ever. Korea’s numbers are simply the latest proof that audiences are turning out in force, week after week, rather than fading after opening night.
With ‘The Odyssey’ now closing in on Korean box office royalty and still climbing nearly two weeks into its run, how high do you think Odysseus’s journey can ultimately sail on the charts?
