The Odyssey just sailed past the billion-dollar mark

Christopher Nolan's epic film, The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, has just surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office, marking a significant milestone in 2026. This achievement is the third for Nolan in 2026, and the first time he has hit the billion-dollar mark while not featuring a Batted Man. Although final numbers have not been released yet, it is anticipated that The Odyssey will become Nolan's highest-grossing film this year, surpassing his 2008 movie, The Dark Knight, which lost the weekend box office to Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The news of The Odyssey's success sparked a lively discussion among The A.V. Club's Slack channels, where fans speculated whether Tom Holland or Zendaya, both of whom appear in both The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, could have the biggest box office year of all time. Nonetheless, neither Holland nor Zendaya are likely to surpass Holland's impressive 2019 double feature, where he starred in both Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame.

Zendaya, however, has shown she can compete with the studios' top earners, as she has already starred in The A-Team and will next appear in Denis Villeneuve's Dune series. With five films already clearing the billion-dollar threshold this year, 2026 is shaping up to be a successful year for Hollywood, breaking the record for the most films to surpass the billion-dollar mark since the COVID-19 pandemic.