Nolan's 'The Odyssey' opens with $264m globally, his biggest debut yet, as 70mm pilgrims cross borders
The three-hour IMAX epic took $124.5m in North America and $139.6m internationally, landing as the third-biggest domestic opening of 2026 despite an R-rating and competition from the World Cup final.
The box-office run
Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's epic poem opened across 73 international markets and North America on 17 July, pulling in a combined $264.1m in ticket sales, the largest worldwide opening weekend of the director's career. Universal Pictures confirmed the domestic tally of $124.5m, which makes it the third-highest North American debut of 2026, trailing only Toy Story 5 ($159m) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($131m). The international markets added $139.6m, giving Nolan his best-ever opening in 48 countries (France, Brazil, India, Italy among them). The results outpaced pre-release industry forecasts that targeted a $258m global start and $120m domestically, according to trade reports.
The previous Nolan high-water mark belonged to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, which bowed to $249m worldwide ($160m of that in North America). Oppenheimer, his 2023 biopic that eventually grossed $975m globally, opened to $198m. The Odyssey also delivered the strongest career opening for star Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus.
Across the BFI, our commitment to preserving and celebrating celluloid, alongside the filmmakers who continue to champion this format, speaks to the enduring power of storytelling and the unique communal experience of seeing film on film.
The 70mm pilgrimage
Forty-one theatres worldwide can project the film in Nolan's preferred IMAX 70mm format, and fans treated the screenings as a destination event. London's BFI IMAX, the UK's largest screen, posted a three-day gross of £219,867 ($296,147) from a single auditorium, surpassing the venue's previous opening-weekend record held by Star Wars: The Last Jedi (£216,454 in 2017). The theatre reported 82,000 admissions since tickets went on sale, producing £2.17m in gross revenue and a 94% occupancy rate. All 173 IMAX 70mm screenings scheduled across eight weeks sold out, with buyers travelling from Singapore, Los Angeles and Toronto. Nolan himself introduced the first Friday showing.
In the United States, deaf filmgoer Zach Weible travelled nearly 300 miles from Ocala, Florida, to Fort Lauderdale for a 70mm screening that lacks closed-captioning support. Aldo Ruggiero flew from Italy to attend the BFI IMAX presentation. Fans described the format as "cinema in its purest form," per The New York Times.
- The Odyssey (2026)
- 264.1 $m
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- 249 $m
- Oppenheimer (2023)
- 198 $m
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- 198 $m
The Homeric canvas
The film follows Odysseus's ten-year journey home from the Trojan War, drawing not only on Homer's Odyssey but also on Virgil's Aeneid, with Nolan focusing on how stories are transmitted and retold. Scenes were shot at Greek archaeological sites: the Palace of Nestor in Pylos, Voidokilia Beach, Methoni Castle, and Acrocorinth. The Greek state contributed approximately €6.5m in production subsidies under a rebate scheme launched in 2017. The reported production budget stands at $250m, with marketing costs estimated between $100m and $125m; analysts quoted in the trade press say the film will need to reach roughly $625m to $700m in global box office to break even across its first exhibition window.
The visual experience is too great to miss out on.
- North America ($124.5m)
- 124.5
- International ($139.6m)
- 139.6
Critical embrace and audience scores
The Odyssey carries a 95% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 97% audience score; Metacritic places it at 88 out of 100. CinemaScore, which polls American opening-night crowds, returned an 'A' grade. Major outlets (the New York Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent) described the picture as a visionary fusion of old-Hollywood scale and modern technique. The film is the first feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
Casting storms and review-bombing
Even before release, the casting of Lupita Nyong'o (a Mexican-Kenyan actress) as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page (a trans actor) as Sinon drew online attacks, with Elon Musk posting on X that Nolan "desecrated Homer and groveled on his knees just to meet the woke rules required to win an Oscar" and calling the director "a worm." Greek media hosted extended debates involving historians, directors, and critics. Defenders argued that Greek epics belong to Western civilization broadly and that creative liberty is permissible with mythic material. The film also contended with the World Cup's knockout stage: the third-place match between England and France and the final in which Spain beat Argentina 1–0 fell on the same opening weekend, a scheduling collision set more than a year ago.
Chris Nolan desecrated Homer and groveled on his knees just to meet the woke rules required to win an Oscar. What a worm.
What comes next
The BFI IMAX said additional 70mm dates will be added in response to global demand. Universal has not yet announced a second-weekend expansion plan, but the strong audience scores and the A CinemaScore signal a long tail. With $264.1m banked in three days and 1,900 large-screen IMAX venues screening the digital version worldwide, the picture is widely expected to sail past the $625m break-even threshold identified by industry analysts.
