Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey charts $117 million opening
The R-rated Universal release earned $17.6 million in Thursday previews and is projected to top several 2026 box office marks.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is moving fast out of the gate, with The Hollywood Reporter saying the Universal Pictures release earned $17.6 million from domestic Thursday night previews.
The trade publication reported that the film is tracking toward a $117 million domestic opening weekend. If that estimate holds, it would give The Odyssey the biggest opening for a live-action film this year.
That would put Nolan’s mythic R-rated release ahead of Michael, which opened to $97 million domestically and later passed $1 billion worldwide in July, according to the figures cited by The Hollywood Reporter.
The year’s two stronger domestic debuts still belong to animated titles. Toy Story 5 opened with $160 million, while The Super Mario Galaxy Movie began with $131.7 million.
A $117 million start would also make The Odyssey the top R-rated opening of 2026, passing Backrooms, which launched with $81.4 million. It would set a new R-rated opening record for Universal Pictures as well, moving past the $85.1 million debut of Fifty Shades of Grey.
For Nolan, the projected opening would mark his strongest domestic start since The Dark Knight Rises. That 2012 film still leads his filmography with a $160 million opening.
The Odyssey is also expected to outpace Nolan’s previous release, Oppenheimer, which opened to $82.4 million domestically. The comparison is a notable one, since Oppenheimer became one of the defining box office stories of its release year.
The financial bar for The Odyssey remains high. Forbes, citing reported costs of $250 million for production and $125 million for marketing, estimated that the movie would need between $625 million and $750 million at the global box office to break even after theaters take their share.
Premium formats could play a major role in that run. Mashable reported that IMAX 70mm screenings have been sold out for weeks into the future and have been in high demand since tickets went on sale last year.
Nolan has crossed the $1 billion worldwide mark twice before, with The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. The current opening weekend projection puts The Odyssey on a strong early course, though its final total will depend on how long audiences keep turning up after the first rush.
The Odyssey is now playing in theaters.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.