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The Odyssey hasn’t finished its dominant run at the box office, where it has pulled in $1.1 billion US following its July 17 release as of this weekend, according to The Associated Press.
The Greek epic adaptation is now director Christopher Nolan’s highest grossing film ever — not adjusting for inflation — and his first to reach the billion-dollar mark since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
That Batman film earned $1.08 billion US, while his previous superhero flick The Dark Knight landed squarely at $1 billion US.
His 2024 biopic Oppenheimer was just shy of the mark, with roughly $975 million US.
Emily Wilson, who translated The Odyssey into English, breaks down Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster version that has everyone talking about Homer this summer. Wilson spoke with Megan Williams, guest host of CBC Radio’s The Sunday Magazine.
CORRECTION (July 27, 2026): A previous title of this video suggested the word “slave” was not used in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. In fact, the term is referenced in the film.
It wasn’t the only film to make gains this week; Sony-Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day shattered expectations following its July 31 premiere, running away with $1.67 billion US worldwide after earning $360 million US in its debut weekend.
That both broke Marvel records — the only other superhero film to earn over $300 million US its debut weekend is Avengers: Endgame, which earned $357 million US in 2019 — but puts it on track to become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Brand New Day is also now the second-fastest film to earn $1 billion US, right behind Endgame. It is also currently the highest grossing movie of the year — just ahead of The Odyssey, itself ahead of Toy Story 5‘s $1.07 billion US box office.
The Odyssey has more runway ahead. The film does not officially release in the massive Chinese market until Friday, having seen only a Beijing premiere and limited screenings so far. According to a July report from Variety, the country will dedicate most of its 800-Imax screen network to the film, with the CEO of Imax China expecting the demand for the film “is going to be enormous.”
Christopher Nolan’s global blockbuster The Odyssey was shot in Imax 70-mm format, but only nine Canadian theatres have the projectors to screen it as the director intended, leading some fans to drive for hours just for the experience.
Imax appeal
Part of that demand in China and worldwide has surely been that Imax appeal. Even as Hollywood saw cratering attendance during the worst of the COVID pandemic and pundits feared audience’s desire for theatre-going had all but vanished, the Canadian-created and owned technology was exploding in popularity.
Following the company’s 1967 founding in Mississauga, its “rolling loop” technology quickly became thought of as a premiere educational format: showcasing grand Canadian vistas on Imax’s iconic, giant curved screens.
But after a late 1990s, early 2000s shift to more cost-effective digital formats, Imax gained a strong foothold in Hollywood. Subsequent releases like James Cameron’s Avatar and — more recently — the Nolan-directed Oppenheimer established it as a signifier of event cinema.
Still, demand for the premium Imax formats often remains higher than supply — only 41 theatres worldwide and nine in Canada are able to project in the coveted Imax 70mm format.
Nolan has become particularly connected to the company, and made The Odyssey the first movie ever filmed entirely in Imax. And with $147.3 million US domestically on the company’s large-format screens, it now ranks as IMAX’s highest grossing domestic release of all time.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey have helped drive Hollywood to its best box-office year since the pandemic. Ticket sales are running 18.5 per cent ahead of last year, according to media analyst company Rentrak. There have already been five $1 billion US movies — more than any year since 2019. The other two were Michael and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Rentrak forecasts that the overall summer theatrical revenue will reach $4 billion US on Monday. That seasonal mark has long been a sign of thriving business for Hollywood. Since the pandemic, the only summer to surpass $4 billion was 2023, when Barbie and Oppenheimer drove ticket sales.
