„'Odyssey' sets record: Christopher Nolan's new film debuts with over $264 million at the global box office

The new movie of Christopher Nolan – „Odyssey“, began its theatrical release with an impressive performance, achieving $264.1 million worldwide box office revenue in its debut weekend. Of these $124.5 million they come from North America, and 139.6 million – from international markets.

This is an extremely strong start for an age-restricted production R, a duration of nearly three hours and not belonging to an established film franchise. Although the plot is based on nearly Homer's 3,000-year-old poem, the success of the film once again proves the enormous influence and popularity of Christopher Nolan among the global audience.

With these results „"Odyssey"“ notes the strongest global opening weekend in the director's career, overtaking „The Dark Knight: Resurgence“, which launched with $249 million, as well as „The Black Knight“ with 198 million. In addition, the film records the third biggest debut of 2026, after „Super Mario Galaxy: The Movie“ ($372.5 million) and „Toy Story 5“ ($312 million).

The script and direction are by Christopher Nolan, and the main role of a king Odysseus, ruler of Ithaca, is entrusted to Matt Damon. The story follows the hero's perilous return after the end of the Trojan War.

The star-studded cast also includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. Thanks to the excellent critical reviews and strong recommendation from viewers, the film is expected to have a long and successful life on the big screen. The production budget, supported by Universal Pictures, amounts to about 250 million dollars.

On the international market „"Odyssey"“ debuted in 73 countries, with the strongest results coming from Great Britain and Ireland ($17.4 million), France (13.7 million) and Italy (11.5 million). The film set a record for the best opening for a film in Christopher Nolan в 48 international territories, including France and Italy, and for Universal this is the strongest debut in 11 markets. The film is set to premiere in South Korea, China and Japan.

The president of the international distribution of Universal Pictures, Veronica Quan Vandenberg, commented that „"Odyssey"“ has managed to unite viewers around the world around a story that has excited people for centuries.

„"The passion, vision and unique cinematic style of Christopher Nolan invariably arouse enormous interest all over the world. Together with Emma Thomas "It continues to set the standard for the large-scale cinema event," she said.

The film also goes down in history as the first feature-length production shot entirely with IMAX cameras. Only from the projections in the form IMAX have been implemented $51.8 million worldwide, which represents 23% of all revenue in its opening weekend. This is the strongest start in the format's history in comparable markets, surpassing even „Avengers: Endgame“.

The Chief Executive Officer of IMAX, Richard Gelfond, stated that viewers can experience the true intent of Christopher Nolan only if they watch „"Odyssey"“ in this format.

„"If you don't watch „"Odyssey"“ in IMAX, you won't see it the way it is Chris Nolan wanted it to be experienced," he emphasized Gelfond, calling the opening weekend a „historic moment“ for the company. He said the film’s success will accelerate the opening of more IMAX theaters and attract even more viewers to the premium format.