‘The Odyssey’ Becomes Christopher Nolan’s 3rd $1 Billion Box Office Hit

After a decade-long wait, Christopher Nolan has once again reached the elite $1 billion box office club with his latest film, "The Odyssey." The epic film, starring a talented cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway, has now grossed worldwide, becoming the fifth movie of 2026 to achieve this feat. Estimated to earn between $25 million and $35 million in North America this weekend, "The Odyssey" is on track to cross the $450 million domestic threshold, marking another weekend drop of less than 50%.

The film's strong performance can be attributed to high demand for Imax 70mm and other analog premium formats, despite sharing the popular premium format with Sony/Marvel's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Securing its status as a billion-dollar hit, "The Odyssey" broke the $227 million worldwide mark in its second weekend, with domestic earnings dropping by just 27%—the lowest percentage drop ever for a film opening to over $100 million in North America.

This achievement marks the third Nolan film to reach the $1 billion mark, joining the Batman films "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). The film now aims to top the all-time box office record for an R-rated film, held by the 2024 Marvel film "Deadpool & Wolverine" with $1.33 billion. "The Odyssey" will soon expand to the biggest Asian markets, beginning with South Korea and China, where Nolan promoted the film with interviews and a viral appearance.

If "The Odyssey" surpasses $1.36 billion, it will claim the title of Universal's third-highest-grossing movie before inflation adjustments, trailing only behind "Jurassic World" ($1.67 billion) and "Furious 7" ($1.51 billion). Additionally, the film is on track to become Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing film ever, surpassing the $1.085 billion total of "The Dark Knight Rises."