Director Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey has had a truly epic debut at the box office. The Matt Damon-starrer The Odyssey has debuted globally with $264.1 million in ticket sales on its opening weekend, the best opening for the filmmaker ever.
The Odyssey worldwide box office
Universal Pictures, the studio behind The Odyssey, said on Sunday that the film had grossed $264.1 million globally in its first three days, including $124.5 million in the U.S. and Canada. The last time a film directed by Nolan touched these heights at the box office was in 2012, when The Dark Knight Rises – the final part of his Batman trilogy – opened at $249 million. In the North American market, The Odyssey ranks third on Nolan’s list of highest openings, behind The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight. But after factoring in international gross, the mythological epic reigns supreme, allowing the filmmaker to scale new heights. However, the two Batman films do beat The Odyssey when adjusted for inflation.
The two Dark Knight films are the highest-grossing ventures of Nolan’s storied career, with both grossing over $1 billion. The Odyssey, with a strong word of mouth, looks set to target that mark as well. Nolan’s previous film – Oppenheimer – stopped just short of it with a worldwide gross of $915 million in 2023.
Craze for The Odyssey
The film, based on the ancient Greek poem by Homer, stars Matt Damon as the Greek hero Odysseus and follows his perilous journey home after fighting the Trojan War. The Odyssey cost $250 million to make. It received an A CinemaScore from filmgoers who attended opening-night screenings, and an audience rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Half the movie-goers elected to see The Odyssey in an enhanced format in the U.S. and Canada, including 23% at IMAX, according to Universal.
Fans began snapping up tickets for The Odyssey a year ago when seats at select IMAX theatres went on sale. IMAX said demand for tickets was so high that more than 50 theatres across North America added show times between midnight and 7 a.m.
IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond said the company had booked $50 million in advance ticket sales, its strongest presales ever.
All about The Odyssey
Apart from Matt Damon, The Odyssey also stars Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and Lupita N’yongo in pivotal roles.
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