“The Odyssey” continued to exert a strong hold on moviegoers in its second weekend in US theaters, with $87 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That’s just a 30% drop from its opening weekend, an incredibly modest slide for a blockbuster. It’s also filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s best second weekend ever, not accounting for inflation. In 2008, ‘The Dark Knight’ earned $75.2 million in its second weekend.With $128.3 million from international theaters, ‘The Odyssey’ has earned an estimated $639.6 million worldwide.
‘The Odyssey’ marks with IMAX
As with last weekend, much of that total came from premium large-format screens. IMAX screens alone accounted for $48 million of global earnings this weekend. The coveted 70mm IMAX screens, of which there are only 41 worldwide, earned $5.2 million. Most of those times are sold out through September, the company said.
‘Spider-Man’ to challenge ‘The Odyssey’
There was no significant new competition this weekend or last. Regardless, second-weekend earnings are rare for a film that opened to more than $100 million. For an R-rated movie, it’s second only to “Deadpool & Wolverine.”But the open waters will get a little more crowded next weekend when audiences get another blockbuster option with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ which shares actors Tom Holland and Zendaya with ‘The Odyssey.’ Some analysts say that ‘Spider-Man’ could get the biggest opening weekend of the year. Still, Nolan’s film will have the most IMAX screens in the coming weeks.
‘Toy Story’ exceeds one billion dollars
Second and third place went to Disney releases, ‘Moana’ with $10.5 million, followed by ‘Toy Story 5’ with $10 million. The latter crossed $1 billion in its fifth weekend, with $448 million from domestic theaters and $573 million from international screens. It is the sixth Pixar film to reach the milestone.Bleecker Street’s release of ‘Hadestown: The Musical,’ a live taping of the show, rounded out the top five with $9.7 million in its opening weekend. The hit Broadway show uses folk and jazz to tell an ancient Greek tale.Olivia Wilde’s chamber comedy “The Invite” also continues to perform well in its platform launch, with another $2.6 million to bring its total to $19.8 million.
The summer box office is over $3 billion
Overall, the year is running 10% ahead of last year, and the summer box office this weekend topped $3 billion. Before the pandemic, the summer movie season regularly topped $4 billion. The only other time since then was the ‘Barbenheimer’ in 2023. Dergarabedian is cautiously optimistic that could also be in the offing this summer.“It’s a pretty hefty increase for August, but this could be a mega August given the staying power of ‘The Odyssey’ along with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,'” he said. “For ‘The Odyssey’ it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s a marathon race that will be played well into August.”
Top 10 Movies at the US Box Office
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” – $87 million.2. “Moana” – $10.5 million.3. ‘Toy Story 5’: $10 million.4. ‘Minions & Monsters’: $9.7 million.5. ‘Hadestown’: $9.6 million.6. “The Invite”: $2.6 million.7. “Evil Dead Burn” – $2.6 million.8. ‘Young Washington’ – $2 million.9. “Motor City”: $1.6 million.10. “Obsession” – $1.5 million.