Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey has surpassed $1.684 billion globally, officially dethroning 2015’s Jurassic World to become Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time.
Universal Pictures Claims a New Box Office King
The journey home to Ithaca has proved exceptionally lucrative. Christopher Nolan’s feature adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has collected $601.2 million domestically alongside an international tally of $1.083 billion, pushing its grand global cume to $1.684 billion. That performance edges past Universal’s previous record-holder, 2015’s Jurassic World, which ended its theatrical run at $1.677 billion, according to comprehensive box office reporting.
On a box office voyage for less than two months, the 114-year-old film company announced the milestone on Saturday, when the Matt Damon-led epic’s weekend haul will bring its domestic earnings to $601.2 million, with an international tally of $1.083 billion in ticket sales. By the end of this weekend, The Odyssey will have crushed the ultimate record, becoming Universal’s highest grossing movie ever at the global box office with $1.684 billion.
The blockbuster’s historic climb places it at No. 12 on the all-time worldwide box office chart. It also stands as the third-highest-grossing non-franchise movie in cinematic history. Industry analysts noted the film’s extraordinary staying power, highlighted by an amazing 6.39x multiple at the global box office and a rare return to the No. 1 position globally in its eighth weekend, dropping only 9% domestically. With Nolan and Emma Thomas producing for Syncopy, the project represents the biggest opening of Nolan’s career, with The Odyssey having crossed the USD 1.6 billion mark globally.
“What Chris and Emma [Thomas] have created will go down as one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed films in cinematic history. A generational event that galvanizes moviegoing itself.”
Donna Langley, Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment
A Cascade of Records Across Global Markets
Beyond securing the top spot for its studio, The Odyssey rewrote record books for director Christopher Nolan, the R-rated genre, and large-format exhibition. The film delivered Nolan his biggest global opening weekend ever—surpassing The Dark Knight Rises—while also clicking past The Dark Knight’s $534.9M to become Nolan’s highest grossing movie of his career both domestically ($601.2 million) and worldwide ($1.684 billion).
- Highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, setting the all-time R-rated box office record.
- Highest-grossing feature ever for IMAX.
- The first film that is not a sequel or remake since Avatar in early 2010 to gross more than $1 billion outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, Nolan’s meticulously hand-crafted movie was shot across the globe and stars some of the biggest names in Hollywood. As part of its historic run, the feature recently reclaimed the top box office position in its eighth weekend in theaters, outpacing the Marvel hit Spider-Man: Brand New Day (USD 2.4 billion) with a $45.96 million global weekend.
Studio Dominance and the Road Ahead
The massive success of The Odyssey has taken its place as Universal’s highest grossing film of all time before inflation adjustment, passing the $1.67 billion global record set in 2015 by Jurassic World in its ninth weekend in theaters. The studio record joins a slew of other box office records that The Odyssey has set, including the highest-grossing film ever for IMAX. It stands as Nolan’s third $1 billion-plus hit, coming 18 years after his first one, The Dark Knight, became the first superhero film to cross that milestone.
