The Odyssey storms U.K. and Ireland box office with £12.5 million debut
Universal’s The Odyssey opened at No. 1 in the U.K. and Ireland, while one London Imax site smashed its own weekend record.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Universal’s The Odyssey hit the U.K. and Ireland box office like a thunderbolt, opening in first place with £12.5 million, or $16.8 million, according to Variety.
The debut gave Nolan his second-largest opening weekend in the market, Variety reported, and put the film ahead of Oppenheimer on that measure. The film also delivered the biggest opening Friday of the year in the territory and ranked as Universal’s fifth-biggest opening Friday there.
Premium large-format screens did heavy lifting. Variety reported that the BFI Imax in London, billed as the U.K.’s largest cinema screen, posted the strongest three-day opening weekend in its history from a single venue, taking $294,249.
That was enough to pass the venue’s previous weekend record, held since 2017 by Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $289,682. Oppenheimer now sits third on the BFI Imax list with $277,936, according to the figures cited by Variety.
The London Imax has now logged more than 82,000 admissions for The Odyssey, bringing in $2.9 million in ticket sales to date. Variety reported the site has run at 94% occupancy, with 173 consecutive sold-out showtimes, making the film the venue’s third highest-grossing title ever.
Disney holds two podium spots
Behind Universal’s new No. 1, Disney took second and third place. Toy Story 5 earned $2.2 million in its fifth weekend, lifting its five-week total to $60.6 million, according to Variety.
Disney’s live-action Moana followed in third place. The film added $2 million in its second weekend, taking its running total in the market to $7.4 million.
Universal’s Minions & Monsters landed fourth with $1.5 million in its third week, reaching $12.5 million overall. Studiocanal’s horror release Evil Dead Burn completed the top five with $406,258 in its second weekend and $2.2 million to date.
The rest of the top 10
Black Bear’s ensemble comedy-drama The Invite placed sixth in its third weekend, adding $318,749 for a total of $3.3 million. Universal’s Obsession took seventh in its 10th weekend with $249,169, bringing its total to $24.9 million.
Warner Bros.’ Supergirl ranked eighth in its fourth weekend with $123,852 and a cumulative $7.4 million. Universal’s Steven Spielberg sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day was ninth with $91,904 in its sixth week, reaching $16.9 million. Paramount’s Jackass: Best and Last finished 10th, adding $57,313 in its fourth week for a $2.9 million total.
The next wave of releases includes Miracle/IHeart Cinema’s animated family title Chickenhare And The Secret Of The Groundhog, set for more than 300 screens, and Park Circus’ re-release of Aardman’s Chicken Run at more than 100 sites, Variety reported.
Curzon is also rolling out a 4K restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia, while other openings include Sia’s concert film, Pinocchio Unstrung, Helen Walsh’s On The Sea, Brunello Cucinelli: The Gracious Visionary, A Useful Ghost, Ask E. Jean, The India Story and Animal Farm.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.