The Odyssey brings in $341 million in worldwide ticket sales
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(From left) American actor Matt Damon, British-American director Christopher Nolan and American actress Anne Hathaway at The Odyssey premiere in New York on July 14.
PHOTO: AFP
- Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey earned US$264.1 million globally on its opening weekend, including US$124.5 million in the US and Canada.
- The movie stars Matt Damon and adapts Homer’s ancient Greek poem, focusing on Odysseus’ challenging journey home from the Trojan War.
- The film received high audience ratings, strong IMAX presales, and ranks among Nolan’s top three openings worldwide, reflecting his popularity and broad appeal.
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LOS ANGELES – Director Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey had an epic debut, grossing US$264.1 million (S$341 million) in global ticket sales on its opening weekend, including US$124.5 million in the US and Canada, Universal Pictures said on July 19.
The film, based on the ancient Greek poem by Homer, stars Matt Damon as the Greek hero Odysseus and follows his perilous journey home after fighting in the Trojan War.
It is Nolan’s first movie since the 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer, which won Academy Awards in several categories, including directing and best picture.
“There’s just palpable excitement across the domestic market this weekend for The Odyssey,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic theatrical distribution.
The film topped the weekend’s domestic and global box office, according to media research company Rentrak.
It had broad appeal with moviegoers, with half of ticket-buyers between the ages of 18 and 34, Orr told Reuters. The strong opening performance of the film is a testament to Nolan’s popularity among moviegoers.
“Modern audiences should not be underestimated (in terms of) their knowledge of film and film-makers,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends. “And that passion they have for film is manifest in their devotion to Christopher Nolan. It really is a thing.”
The Odyssey cost US$250 million to make. It received an “A” CinemaScore from filmgoers who attended opening-night screenings, and an audience rating of 97 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film ranks among Nolan’s biggest opening weekends.
Factoring in inflation, it ranks as his third-highest-opening film globally, behind 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises and 2008’s The Dark Knight, which brought in inflation-adjusted totals of US$358.5 million and US$304 million, respectively, in worldwide ticket sales during their opening weekends.
Half the moviegoers elected to see The Odyssey in an enhanced format in the US and Canada, including 23 per cent at IMAX, according to Universal.
Fans began snapping up tickets to The Odyssey a year ago when seats at select IMAX theatres went on sale. IMAX said demand for tickets was so high that more than 50 theatres across North America added show times between midnight and 7am.
IMAX chief executive Richard Gelfond said the company had booked US$50 million in advance ticket sales, its strongest pre-sales ever.
He has extolled the use of IMAX cameras and 70mm film to capture the sweeping narrative, generating more buzz around the movie.
“It was just a well-made – almost perfectly made – movie in many respects,” said Gelfond.
Most scholars believe the epic poem attributed to Homer was composed in the seventh or eighth century BC, and was sung and passed on orally before it was written down.
Nolan’s film centres on a portion of Odysseus’ homecoming, where he encounters gods, monsters, storms and tragedy. REUTERS