Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Officially Breaks 17-Year Box Office Drought With Rare Milestone

Published Sep 4, 2026, 5:01 PM EDT

The latest movie in Nolan’s filmography opened in theaters on July 17, presenting a new cinematic take on Homer’s Greek epic poem. Boasting a sprawling cast anchored by Matt Damon’s portrayal of Odysseus, The Odyssey has become one of 2026’s biggest critical and commercial successes. The latter category includes making over $1 billion worldwide, which is even more remarkable for a specific reason that's 17 years in the making.

As reported by Deadline, The Odyssey has made $1.59 billion across the globe, making it the 17th movie to cross $1 billion at the international box office. It’s also the first Hollywood movie that’s not a sequel or remake to hit this milestone since Avatar was released in 2009. Per the report, $1.014 billion of The Odyssey’s box office haul comes from international territories, with its best markets including the United Kingdom and Ireland, China, and France.

The Odyssey is one of five 2026 movies that’s made over $1 billion. It trails only behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has made over $2.3 billion worldwide, while Toy Story 5 comes in third place with $1.13 billion, Michael ranks in fourth place with $1.02 billion, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes fifth place with $1.01 billion. The Odyssey is Nolan’s first movie to cross $1 billion since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, though 2023’s Oppenheimer came close to reaching that achievement with over $983 million worldwide.

This latest update on The Odyssey’s box office performance comes after it was announced that IMAX is extending the movie’s 70mm run through to the end of September. Nolan’s newest movie has become IMAX’s highest-grossing movie with $457 million worldwide. The Odyssey has contributed to Universal Pictures making more than $4.7 billion at the 2026 global box office, with the studio’s other releases this year including the aforementioned Michael and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as well as Disclosure Day and Minions & Monsters.

Regarding critical reception, The Odyssey ranks at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes’ critic-driven Tomatometer, and it has a 97% score on the user-driven Popcornmeter. ScreenRant’s review of The Odyssey awarded the movie a perfect score of 10 out of 10 stars, describing it as “gripping, fascinating, sometimes horrifying, and, just when it needs to be, quite moving.” The Odyssey has also earned early accolades like winning Most Anticipated Film at the Astra Midseason Movie Awards.

Just like its source material, Nolan’s version of The Odyssey follows Damon’s Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, embarking on a long and perilous journey home following the end of the Trojan War to reunite with his wife, Anne Hathaway’s Penelope, and son, Tom Holland’s Telemachus. Damon’s other costars in The Odyssey include Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, and Jon Bernthal, among many others. Along with his directorial duties, Nolan wrote the film adaptation’s script.

The Odyssey will be released on digital platforms and Ultra HD Blu-ray on Tuesday, November 17.

Release Date July 15, 2026

Runtime 173 minutes