After 14 years, Christopher Nolan has returned to the Box Office Billion club, as Universal/Syncopy’s “The Odyssey” has become the fifth film of 2026 to gross $1 billion worldwide.
The Homeric epic starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Anne Hathaway crossed the milestone on its fourth Friday in theaters as it is estimated to earn between $25 million and $35 million in North America this weekend and push its domestic total past $450 million. This would mark another weekend drop of less than 50% despite its loss of Imax exclusivity as it shares the popular premium format with Sony/Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Those strong holds, fueled by high demand to see the film in Imax 70mm and other analog premium formats, have defined the theatrical run of “The Odyssey” thus far. Its status as a billion-dollar hit was secured back in its second weekend after it grossed $227 million worldwide, dropping just 3% in international territories and 27% domestically, the latter being the lowest percentage drop ever for a film that opened to more than $100 million in North America.
This is the third Nolan film to reach $1 billion, joining the Batman films “The Dark Knight” in 2008 and “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012. Now “The Odyssey” sets its sights on the all-time box office record for an R-rated film, currently held by the 2024 Marvel film “Deadpool & Wolverine” with $1.33 billion.
The odds are significantly in its favor, as the film will begin its run in the biggest markets in Asia starting this weekend with its release in South Korea. “The Odyssey” will then get a release on Aug. 14 in China, where Nolan recently promoted the film with a viral interview with doctoral student and podcaster Zhong Shu about the personal philosophy that went into the making of the film, followed by a Japanese release in September.
If the film passes $1.36 billion, it will top the 2023 animated film “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” to become Universal’s third highest grossing movie before inflation adjustment, sitting only behind the $1.67 billion total of “Jurassic World” and the $1.51 billion total of “Furious 7,” both of which were released in 2015.
And not for nothing, but the film is also on course to be Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing film ever, surpassing the $1.085 billion of “The Dark Knight Rises.”