The Odyssey eyes $20 million Tuesday as Nolan's epic keeps packing theaters
Deadline reports Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is pacing toward a $20 million Tuesday and a hefty second weekend in North America.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is still sailing hot at the domestic box office, with Deadline reporting that the Universal release is headed for about $20 million on Tuesday.
If the film clears $20.86 million for the day, Deadline said it would mark Nolan’s biggest Tuesday at the North American box office, topping the Tuesday haul for 2008’s The Dark Knight.
The ensemble film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal and Mia Goth. Nolan wrote, produced and directed the film, according to Deadline.
Among 2026 Tuesday grosses, Deadline said The Odyssey currently ranks second behind Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5, which made $23.69 million on June 23. For Universal Tuesday grosses, Deadline placed it behind Jurassic World, which took in $24.3 million on June 16, 2015.
A second weekend with serious muscle
Deadline reported that The Odyssey will keep all Imax and premium large-format screens in its second weekend. The film is being projected to fall by 40% to 50%, which would put its sophomore frame between $61.8 million and $74 million.
That range gives Nolan’s latest a shot at challenging the second weekends of his Batman blockbusters. Deadline noted that The Dark Knight posted $75.1 million in its second frame after a 61% drop, while The Dark Knight Rises made $62.1 million, also after a 61% decline.
Deadline said superhero films tend to be more front-loaded, which is why box office watchers are not expecting The Odyssey to follow the same holding pattern as the Dark Knight movies. The outlet described demand for Nolan’s epic as tied to specific seats, formats and showtimes.
For comparison, Deadline pointed to Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which fell 43% in its second weekend and earned $46.7 million while Barbie was dominating the market.
Rivals keep their distance
No major studio has scheduled a wide release for the coming weekend, Deadline reported, with The Odyssey holding strong and Sony and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day arriving next. Deadline said the new Spider-Man film is expected to pass The Odyssey’s $123.5 million opening, the top live-action debut of 2026 so far, and could challenge Toy Story 5’s $159.6 million, the year’s biggest three-day total to date.
Specialty titles will still try to find room. IFC is releasing Potsy Ponciroli’s dialogue-free noir Motor City in 1,600 theaters, according to Deadline. The film stars Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster and Ben McKenzie, and is expected to open in the low single digits. Deadline cited 29 Rotten Tomatoes reviews showing a 72% fresh score.
Bleecker Street has Hadestown: The Musical, a filmed version of the Tony-winning stage production, booked at 1,944 theaters. Deadline reported about $5 million in advance ticket sales and projected a $7 million to $10 million opening. The film was shot in London’s West End and features Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada and Patrick Page.
Neon is opening Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell in about 700 locations, with Deadline projecting a low single-digit debut. The Cannes title stars Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu and Kristine Froseth, and Deadline reported a 49% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics after Cannes.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.