Christopher Nolan has another hit on his hands. The Odyssey rocketed into theaters with a robust $51 million on its opening day at the domestic box office. The mythological epic is now set to achieve a projected opening weekend of more than $120 million in North America and about $250 million worldwide. The performance makes the film one of the biggest theatrical launches of 2026 and additionally demonstrates the continued ability to draw crowds with Nolan’s name on the big screen.
Universal’s “The Odyssey” opened to a healthy $63.4 million from 3,989 North American locations, including a robust $17.6 million worth of business from Thursday night previews. The debut has far outperformed many early industry projections and puts the film on track for one of the strongest openings of Nolan’s career outside his Batman trilogy.
If projections hold, The Odyssey will be Christopher Nolan’s third-biggest domestic opening, behind only The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. The film is also poised to become one of the biggest R-rated openings in box office history, which is impressive given its nearly three-hour running time. A $120 million bow would be Nolan’s best opening since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, which opened to an impressive $160 million.
What makes the performance even more striking is how it compares to Nolan’s recent work. The projected opening comfortably surpasses Oppenheimer, his 2023 Best Picture winner, which debuted to $82 million before going on to earn $975 million globally. Even more telling, The Odyssey has already made history with its opening day alone—its $51 million Friday haul has exceeded the entire opening weekend of Nolan’s 2014 sci-fi epic Interstellar, which debuted with $47.5 million. These comparisons highlight just how strong audience demand has been for Nolan’s latest film.
According to Variety, this is Nolan’s first film since the massive success of Oppenheimer, which came close to the $1 billion mark worldwide. Anticipation had been building for months, fueled by record-breaking advance ticket sales—especially for IMAX 70mm screenings. That excitement is now clearly visible, with theaters reporting packed houses and premium-format shows selling out across multiple regions.
Based on Homer’s ancient Greek epic, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, whose perilous journey home after the Trojan War forms one of literature’s most enduring stories. The ensemble cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson, bringing together many of Hollywood’s most recognizable names for Nolan’s ambitious adaptation.
A lot of the buzz around The Odyssey has to do with Nolan’s commitment to large-format filmmaking. The film was shot entirely using specially designed IMAX cameras, making it the first feature film to do so. The combination of technical ambition and Nolan’s reputation for deeply immersive cinema has created strong demand for premium-format screenings around the world.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Burn rounds out the top five at the box office. The latest chapter in the long-running Evil Dead horror franchise has struggled to live up to expectations, particularly when compared to the stronger debut of 2023’s Evil Dead Rise.
Also Read: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Wins Stunning Early Reviews
Evil Dead Rise opened to a much lower number last weekend and is still nowhere near its predecessor. The disparity in performance between it and the giant success of The Odyssey is staggering.
The Odyssey, with strong audience interest, a high demand for premium formats, and an estimated domestic opening of over $120 million, is already shaping up as one of the year’s biggest theatrical events. Whether the movie can keep its momentum going over the next few weeks remains to be seen, but its opening weekend has already reconfirmed Christopher Nolan’s position as one of the few directors who can transform an original, big-budget epic into a worldwide box-office phenomenon.
