The Odyssey Becomes Nolan’s Highest-Grossing Film
Following the historic box-office success and awards-season performance of Oppenheimer, Universal reunited with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, producer Emma Thomas, and their team at Syncopy to tackle the most epic story ever told: The Odyssey.
Within the first month of its release, the film has captivated audiences and become the highest-grossing film of Christopher Nolan’s career with a global gross of $1,104,805,000. Nolan’s previous best was The Dark Knight Rises (2012), which grossed $1,085,429,532 worldwide.
In addition to earning the best critical reviews of Nolan’s career, The Odyssey received an A CinemaScore and a 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film has been embraced not only by his dedicated fanbase but also by fans of the film’s all-star cast and moviegoers craving a big-screen spectacle of the highest order. It continues to attract new audiences as its theatrical run extends.
“Christopher Nolan has earned audiences’ trust by consistently delivering must-see theatrical events, and The Odyssey is him operating at the peak of his powers,” said Jim Orr, President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution at Universal Pictures.
“Nolan’s epic film has been at the forefront of culture, with audiences seeking out premium formats and repeat viewings for this once-in-a-lifetime cinematic journey.”
“A singular filmmaker with the international following of Christopher Nolan is uniquely fit to adapt Homer’s ancient poem, which is one of the most influential and well-known stories in the world,” said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of Distribution at Universal Pictures International.
“The Odyssey is a global epic that has resonated with audiences everywhere with its massive scope and uncompromising vision.”
The Odyssey has now also reached $289.3 million in global IMAX box office, breaking all records to become the highest-grossing IMAX release of all time worldwide, with 47 individual countries also calling The Odyssey their biggest-ever title.
“On behalf of IMAX, I want to extend our congratulations and deepest gratitude to Chris, Emma, the entire team behind The Odyssey and our friends at Universal on this monumental achievement — shattering our longstanding box office record with at least a month left to run on IMAX screens worldwide,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX.
Gelfond continued, “We had the very highest of hopes for The Odyssey from the start, but it somehow continues to exceed them, and its historic performance is headlining what we expect will be our best year ever at the global box office.”
Across the global network, the 41 locations presenting the film in IMAX 70MM format have grossed a combined $37.5 million through Sunday, representing a sensational 13% of the total IMAX gross. This includes Hollywood’s historic TCL Chinese Theatre’s IMAX gross of $2.8 million, which is now the highest single-title box office gross for any domestic IMAX location.
Christopher Nolan’s films have now grossed over $7 billion globally. Universal Pictures has both the highest-grossing film of Nolan’s career globally (The Odyssey – read our review) and the 4th-highest-grossing film of Nolan’s career globally (Oppenheimer – read our review).
The Odyssey is one of three Universal movies this year to gross $1 billion globally and become one of the top five highest-grossing films of 2026. The film debuted at No. 1 globally and remained at No. 1 for two consecutive weekends, both domestically and internationally.
