{"id":712230,"date":"2026-07-26T16:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T16:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/712230\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T16:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T16:16:09","slug":"the-odyssey-box-office-christopher-nolan-movie-has-massive-second-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/712230\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Odyssey’ Box Office: Christopher Nolan Movie Has Massive Second Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cThe Odyssey<\/a>\u201d continued its epic box office journey, scoring a sensational $87 million from 3,943 North American theaters in its second weekend of release. That\u2019s a tally that most films, especially of the R-rated variety, would be happy to earn in their opening weekends.<\/p>\n

\n\tTicket sales for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d declined just 30% from its sizable $123.5 million debut<\/a>, a testament to the box office durability of director Christopher Nolan. Most tentpoles that open above $100 million would decline by 50% or more in subsequent weekends. Plus, R ratings can limit a film\u2019s audience because they prevent most people under 18 from buying a ticket. To that end, the turnout for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d represents the second-biggest sophomore outing for an R-rated movie after Disney\u2019s \u201cDeadpool & Wolverine,\u201d which earned $96 million in its second weekend after launching to a record-setting $221 million domestically. <\/p>\n

\n\tAfter two weekends in theaters, Nolan\u2019s big-budget adaptation of Homer\u2019s epic poem, starring Matt Damon as the Greek king Odysseus, has grossed $286.4 million in North America and $639.6 million globally. \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d will be tested next weekend with the release of \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day.\u201d Sony\u2019s Marvel adventure, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, could distract audiences. However, exhibitors are positively euphoric about the prospect of two massively popular movies to propel the typically slow month of August. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOnce or twice a year a movie opens big and then plays for weeks and weeks,\u201d says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe.\u00a0\u201c\u2018The Odyssey\u2019\u00a0is showing that kind of holding power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Odyssey\u201d has been a force in Imax, which makes sense because it\u2019s the first feature shot entirely with the company\u2019s high-tech cameras. (Since Imax cameras are loud, cumbersome and expensive, most movies are shot digitally and utilize Imax only for certain action sequences.) So far \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d has generated $140 million globally in Imax, including $78 million domestically and $62 million internationally. Imax\u2019s coveted 70mm screens \u2014 of which there are only 41 in the world \u2014 contributed $5.2 million over the weekend and $16.9 million to date, representing 12.1% of the total Imax box office. Since cinephiles know that Imax 70mm is Nolan\u2019s preferred format, most of those showtimes are sold out into September. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2019The Odyssey\u2019 has crossed over from hit blockbuster to global cultural event,\u201d says Imax\u2019s CEO Richard Gelfond. \u201cOur results indicate that audiences around the world will line up to experience this one-of-a-kind film in Imax for weeks, if not months, to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith euphoric word-of-mouth and outsized interest in premium large formats, \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d is expected to remain a major draw throughout the summer and into the fall. It\u2019ll wind up among the highest-grossing releases of the year. That prospect, along with the promise of Oscar nominations and the bragging rights of working with Nolan, the most bankable director of his generation, will easily justify the film\u2019s price tag for Universal. The studio spent a staggering $250 million to produce and around $125 million to promote the movie.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Odyssey\u201d wasn\u2019t the only movie inspired by Greek mythology to land among the top five at the weekend box office. \u201cHadestown: The Musical,\u201d a filmed version of the very successful Broadway show, had a strong debut with $9.6 million from 1,949 theaters. To compare, a theatrical version of \u201cHamilton\u201d earned $10.1 million from 1,825 screens while Broadway live-captures of favorites like \u201cWaitress: The Musical\u201d and \u201cMerrily We Roll Along\u201d opened to $2.6 million and $1.3 million, respectively. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHadestown,\u201d a folk-operatic retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus, a musician who ventures to the underworld to rescue his fianc\u00e9e, Eurydice,\u00a0was supposed to play in theaters for just five days. Given the positive reviews and popular demand, though, Crosswalk and LD Entertainment \u2014 which released \u201cHadestown\u201d with Bleecker Street \u2014 are extending the run with plans to add additional dates and showtimes.<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney\u2019s \u201cMoana\u201d and \u201cToy Story 5\u201d captured second and third place on box office charts. \u201cMoana\u201d earned 10.5 million from 4,015 locations in its third weekend, a modest 40% decline. So far, the live-action version of the studio\u2019s animated adventure has generated $102.5 million in North America and $228.2 million worldwide. Disney spent $250 million to reimagine the oceanic-set movie, so \u201cMoana\u201d will struggle to swim to profitability in its theatrical run.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMoana\u201d might not inspire a live-action sequel, but Disney has plenty to celebrate now that \u201cToy Story 5\u201d is the highest-grossing movie of the year<\/a> with $1.022 billion globally. The animated fivequel added $10 million from 3,375 domestic theaters in its sixth outing, a mere 27% decline from the prior weekend. With grosses at $448.6 million in North America and $573.5 million internationally, \u201cToy Story 5\u201d is poised to notch another box office benchmark. It\u2019ll soon overtake its predecessor, 2019\u2019s \u201cToy Story 4\u201d ($1.07 billion), as the biggest installment in the beloved Pixar franchise. <\/p>\n

\n\tUniversal and Illumination\u2019s \u201cMinions and Monsters\u201d tied with \u201cHadestown\u201d for the No. 4 spot at the domestic box office. \u201cMinions and Monsters\u201d also brought in $9.6 million over the weekend, boosting its domestic tally to $155 million after four weekends on the big screen. The animated prequel has earned $411 million globally, which is significant against its $85 million budget. However, recent entries in the \u201cDespicable Me\u201d franchise have neared or surpassed the billion-dollar mark with ease, meaning the newest \u201cMinions\u201d may end up as the lowest-grossing in the series. Given the diminishing returns, Universal and Illumination, which have cranked out a new \u201cDespicable Me\u201d adventure about every two years since the original 2010 film, may want to wait a bit before Gru and his highlighter-yellow underlings return to theaters. <\/p>\n

\n\tMore to come\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Odyssey\u201d continued its epic box office journey, scoring a sensational $87 million from 3,943 North American theaters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,22546,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-712230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-the-odyssey","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}