'The Odyssey' becomes Christopher Nolan's biggest opener ever!
What's the story
Christopher Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, has made a historic debut at the global box office. The action-adventure film raked in an impressive $264.1 million over its opening weekend worldwide, including $139.6 million from international markets and $124.5 million in North America. This marks a record-breaking start for an R-rated movie that runs for nearly three hours and is not part of any major franchise.
Record-breaking debut
'The Dark Knight Rises' was the previous record-holder
The Odyssey has become Nolan's biggest global debut, surpassing his previous record set by The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 with $249 million and The Dark Knight in 2009 with $198 million. But these figures have not been adjusted for inflation.
It's also the third-largest opening of the year, trailing behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($372.5 million) and Toy Story 5 ($312 million).
Universal's success
Record-breaking openings in multiple international markets
The Odyssey was released in 73 international markets, with top territories including the UK and Ireland ($17.4 million), France ($13.7 million), and Italy ($11.5 million).
The film has become Nolan's biggest opening in 48 of these territories, as well as Universal's largest debut in 11 markets.
In India, it marked the biggest debut for a Nolan film, collecting ₹61.3cr net and ₹73.19cr gross after its opening weekend.
It has yet to open in South Korea, China, or Japan.
IMAX success
IMAX ticket sales and cast details
The Odyssey is also notable for being Nolan's first feature film shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
The premium large formats accounted for a significant portion of ticket sales, generating $22.2 million internationally (16% of revenues) and $51.8 million globally (23% of revenues) in IMAX. This marked the company's biggest opening in like-for-like markets, surpassing Avengers: Endgame.
The film's cast includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, among others.