Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” stormed the North American box office to set one of the biggest premieres and a personal record for the director.According to trade reports, the film has grossed an estimated $124.5 million in domestic ticket sales and another $139.6 million from overseas, making a better debut than Oppenheimer and marking Nolan’s best opening since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, which grossed $249 million at the time of its release.
Nolan flexed his unique box office power with a global debut unlike any other. Few filmmakers alive have been able to pull off a great, big-budget adaptation of Homer’s epic poem. But in Hollywood, where intellectual property rights reign supreme over most films, Nolan turned one of the world’s oldest works of literature into an unexpected summer blockbuster.
“The Odyssey” becomes the most expensive R-rated film
The global production was no small gamble for Nolan, coming off of 2023’s Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer.”
With a production budget of US$250 million, it is among the most expensive R-rated films ever made. Universal is spending about $125 million to market it.
IMAX leads ‘The Odyssey’ ticket sales
But there is no name behind the camera that attracts audiences more than Nolan. The hype around “The Odyssey” was so great that IMAX put tickets on sale for about 70mm of showtimes a full year in advance. To meet exceptional demand for Nolan’s preferred format, IMAX 70mm, some theaters have added midnight and 3 a.m. slots
Shows – and sold out.Billed as Nolan’s first feature film shot entirely on IMAX cameras, the format generated a significant slice of ticket sales. This included US$29.6 million domestically on IMAX and US$51.8 million worldwide, resulting in the company’s best weekend ever.IMAX will devote its entire screens to The Odyssey for three weeks. Although only 41 IMAX screens could show “The Odyssey” in 70mm, it generated $6.3 million in ticket sales.Since the pandemic, Nolan has been at the forefront of reviving movie theaters. His film Tenet was one of the first big releases to return to theaters in 2020. Three years later, Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie combined to form the films’ signature moment of the decade. Oppenheimer’s film eventually grossed US$975 million worldwide.“The Odyssey” arrived in theaters during Hollywood’s best summer since 2019.
Ticket sales are up 10.4% compared to last year, according to Rentrak. The industry is anticipating its first $10 billion annually at the domestic box office since the pandemic.
Spider-Man crashes the Odyssey party.
The only question for “The Odyssey” will be how front-loaded it will be, given that many moviegoers have been circling this weekend for months. The film didn’t face any competition for a new release over the weekend, and it won’t next weekend either. However, by the end of the month, the film will face new competition with Tom Holland and Zendaya’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ releasing on July 31 (India July 30).
The superhero film is expected to be a huge hit at the box office and will continue its epic run at the box office, crossing the $1 billion mark once again.
The casting controversy has no obvious effect
“The Odyssey” stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and features Holland as his son Telemachus; Anne Hathaway as Penelope; Zendaya as Athena; Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous and Charlize Theron as the mermaid Calypso.Nolan’s casting for the film, including Lupita Nyong’o as Helen and Elliot Page as a soldier, was controversial to some conservative commentators.
Elon Musk called Nolan a “coward” over Nyong’o’s choice.But that criticism had little impact 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 to second place
PG-rated films followed in the wake of “The Odyssey.” “Moana”, produced by Walt Disney Company, came in second place by a large margin, earning $19 million in its third weekend.
After a disappointing $43 million release, the remake fell 56% in its second weekend. Within two weeks, the film had collected US$178 million worldwide, a poor result for a film that cost US$250 million to produce.“Moana” came in second place after Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” and Disney’s “Toy Story 5,” both of which grossed about $15 million.
Top 10 films at the domestic box office
With final domestic numbers released Monday, this list takes into account estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:1- “The Odyssey,” $124.5 million.2- “Moana” movie: $19 million.3. “Minions & Monsters,” $14.8 million.4. “Toy Story 5” $14.8 million.5. “Evil Dead Burn,” $5 million.6. “The Invit,” $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.
