Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” opened to $124.5 million in North America over the weekend, giving the director the biggest global launch of his career and reasserting his singular pull at a box office that has struggled through much of 2026.
The Universal epic, adapted from Homer’s ancient poem and starring Matt Damon as the Greek king making his way home from the Trojan War, pulled in $264.1 million worldwide across its opening three days, edging past “The Dark Knight Rises” as Nolan’s largest global debut.
Domestically it ranks as the year’s third-biggest opening and the top launch ever for an R-rated Universal release, trailing only “Toy Story 5” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” among 2026’s live-action and animated titles combined. IMAX screenings alone generated close to $30 million in North America, nearly a quarter of the domestic haul, and the format is extending the film’s run into a fifth week at some locations already selling out.
Audience turnout skewed toward younger viewers, with half of ticket buyers between 18 and 34, a demographic exhibitors have chased since the pandemic thinned out casual moviegoing. Analysts pointed to that reach as evidence of Nolan’s crossover appeal.
Fandango’s Shawn Robbins noted the director has moved between reinventing the superhero genre, delivering original hits and turning a three-hour biopic into a global phenomenon, calling the new film another instance of that pattern repeating. Universal’s domestic distribution chief, Jim Orr, described a charged atmosphere in theaters and said audiences trust Nolan to deliver something built for the big screen.
Reviews have been largely admiring, with the film holding a 98 percent critics’ score, the highest of Nolan’s career, though a recurring complaint centers on pacing and a script that struggles to balance dual storylines following Odysseus and his son. Some critics rank it among Nolan’s finest work alongside “The Dark Knight” and “Interstellar,” while others place it a tier below “Oppenheimer” and “Dunkirk.” The film also drew online criticism over its ensemble, including the casting of a trans actor in a Greek warrior role, criticism Nolan has dismissed as coming largely from people who had not yet seen the movie.
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At $250 million to produce and another $125 million to market, “The Odyssey” arrives with no major competition until “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” opens July 31, giving Universal a clear runway to recoup its investment.
