Christopher Nolan‘The Odyssey’ stormed the US box office to achieve one of the biggest debuts and a personal record for the director.According to trade reports, the film earned an estimated $124.5 million in domestic ticket sales and another $139.6 million overseas, an even better debut than “Oppenheimer” and marking Nolan’s best opening since 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” which earned $249 million in its debut.Nolan flexed his singular box office power with a global debut like no other. Few filmmakers alive could pull off a star-studded, big-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. But in a Hollywood where intellectual property rights govern most blockbusters, Nolan turned one of the world’s oldest works of literature into an unlikely summer blockbuster.
‘The Odyssey’ becomes the most expensive R-rated film
The Universal production was no small gamble for Nolan, who is coming off the 2023 Best Picture winner ‘Oppenheimer.’ With a production budget of $250 million, it is among the most expensive R-rated films ever made. Universal is spending about $125 million to market it.
IMAX boosts ‘The Odyssey’ ticket sales
But no name behind the camera is more public than Nolan’s. So great was the hype for “The Odyssey” that IMAX put tickets on sale for about 70mm timeslots a full year in advance. To meet extraordinary demand for Nolan’s preferred format, IMAX 70mm, some theaters added midnight and 3 a.m. showings, and sold them out.Billed as Nolan’s first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the format generated a large share of ticket sales. That included $29.6 million domestically in IMAX and $51.8 million worldwide, marking the company’s best weekend ever.IMAX dedicates its screens entirely to ‘The Odyssey’ for three weeks. Although only 41 IMAX screens can show ‘The Odyssey’ in 70mm, it brought in $6.3 million in ticket sales.Since the pandemic, Nolan has been at the forefront of reviving cinemas. His ‘Tenet’ was one of the first big releases to return to theaters in 2020. Three years later, Greta Gerwig’s ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ combined to create arguably the decade’s iconic movie moment. ‘Oppenheimer’ eventually grossed $975 million worldwide.‘The Odyssey’ hit theaters during Hollywood’s best summer since 2019. According to Rentrak, ticket sales are 10.4% ahead of last year. The industry is eyeing the first $10 billion year at the domestic box office since the pandemic.
‘Spider-Man’ to crash the party ‘The Odyssey’
The only question for “The Odyssey” will be what the front-loader is, given that many viewers have had this weekend circled for months. The film didn’t face any new-release competition over the weekend, and it won’t next weekend either. However, at the end of the month, the film will face new competition with the release of Tom Holland and Zendaya’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ on July 31 (July 30 India). The superhero film is touted to make a splash at the box office and continue its epic run at the box office, once again crossing the $1 billion mark.
The casting controversy has no apparent effect
The stars of ‘The Odyssey’ Matt Damon as Odysseus and presents Holland as his son, Telemachus; Anne Hathaway as Penelope; Zendaya as Athena; Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous and Charlize Theron as the sea nymph Calypso.Nolan’s casting for the film, including Lupita Nyong’o as Helen and Elliot Page as a soldier, was controversial for some conservative commentators. Elon Musk called Nolan a “coward” over the casting of Nyong’o.But these criticisms had little or no effect on ‘The Odyssey’ becoming one of the big screen cultural events of the year. The reviews (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) are among the best of Nolan’s career. Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore.
‘Moana’ sails into second place
PG-rated movies followed after “The Odyssey.” “Moana” by the Walt Disney Co. landed in a distant second place with $19 million in its third weekend. After its disappointing $43 million launch, the live-action remake dropped 56% in its second weekend. In two weeks it collected $178 million worldwide, a poor result for a film that cost $250 million.‘Moana’ was followed by Universal’s ‘Minions & Monsters’ and Disney’s ‘Toy Story 5’, both of which grossed around $15 million.
Top 10 domestic box office movies
With final domestic numbers coming out Monday, this list takes into account estimated Friday through Sunday ticket sales at theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to Rentrak:1. “The Odyssey,” $124.5 million.2. “Moana,” $19 million.3. “Minions & Monsters,” $14.8 million.4. “Toy Story 5,” $14.8 million.5. “Evil Dead Burn,” $5 million.6. “The Invite,” $3.9 million.7. “Young Washington,” $3.7 million.8. “Obsession,” $2.5 million.9. “Supergirl,” $1.5 million.10. “Disclosure Day,” $1.5 million.