5 Reasons ‘The Odyssey’ Defied Box Office Expectations, Including Imax’s Monster $52 Million Start

“The Odyssey” defied the gods odds in its opening weekend, delivering a sensational $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million globally. After all, it’s highly unusual for a centuries-old poem that everyone was forced to read in school to be the basis of a popcorn movie.

Those mighty ticket sales are a testament to the appeal of director Christopher Nolan, who has become a box office brand unto himself through blockbusters like “Oppenheimer,” the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception” and “Interstellar.” With “The Odyssey,” he secured the biggest global debut of his career, surpassing the benchmark set by 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises” with $249 million, not adjusted for inflation. “The Odyssey” also ranks as the year’s third-largest domestic and worldwide opening following “Toy Story 5” ($159 million domestic, $312 million global) and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131 million domestic, $372 million global), two sequels in major film franchises.

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“This is a Christopher Nolan tour-de-force,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “Having directed 13 films, Nolan has become a unique and singular talent, with a loyal and enthusiastic following.”

An adaptation of Homer’s 3,000-year-old Greek epic, “The Odyssey” follows Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who endures a long and treacherous journey home after the Trojan War. Matt Damon leads the starry ensemble, which includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo and Jon Bernthal. With stellar reviews, euphoric word-of-mouth and the full-blown frenzy around premium formats, “The Odyssey” is primed to enjoy an epic run in theaters. (That’s a relief, since Universal spent a staggering $250 million to produce the film.) Now that its grand voyage has begun, Variety unpacks five reasons “The Odyssey” scored in its opening weekend.

All In on Imax

Sure, Damon, Hathaway and Holland are the stars of “The Odyssey.” But one could argue the real draw is Imax, the technology that’s central to Nolan’s big-screen vision. Because Imax cameras are loud, cumbersome and expensive, most movies that use Imax only utilize the company’s high-tech devices for certain action sequences. “The Odyssey” is significant as the first feature shot entirely with Imax cameras, a feat that Nolan has referred to as his “longest-held ambition.”

“If you don’t see ‘The Odyssey’ in Imax, you aren’t seeing it in the way that Chris Nolan intended,” the company’s CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety after opening weekend.

Plenty of moviegoers heeded that call. Imax accounted for $51.8 million (or 23%) of initial global ticket sales, standing as the company’s biggest opening in like-for-like markets — above a little blockbuster called “Avengers: Endgame.” And it’s currently pacing ahead of “Oppenheimer,” which was a juggernaut in Imax with $35 million worldwide to start and $180 million by the end of its run, contributing roughly 20% of overall revenues.

Imax, which is offering “The Odyssey” (and “The Odyssey” alone) for three entire weeks, has been scheduling showtimes at odd hours of the day to accommodate the stratospheric demand. Movie lovers are going to great lengths to see the film in the coveted 70mm auditoriums, with some deranged determined fans booking 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. screenings of the nearly three-hour epic. Those 70mm screens — and there are only 41 in the entire world — contributed a mighty $6.3 million over the weekend. If you didn’t snag a ticket a year ago, good luck — many Imax locations are fully booked through August.

“We have showtimes in certain formats that are sold out for next weekend, the weekend after, and even mid-week,” says Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr. Of those brave souls who opted to watch “The Odyssey” in the dead of the night, lest they not get a chance to see the movie in 70mm at all, Orr jokes, “We thank them for their patronage and hope they drive home safely.”

All Hail Nolan

Nolan has already been established as the rare director who can get people to buy a ticket on the strength of his name. As the follow-up to “Oppenheimer,” a somber period piece about the father of the atomic bomb, “The Odyssey” is further proof that Nolan can get butts in seats no matter the genre. It’s one thing to pack ’em in for comic book adaptations (“The Dark Knight” series), sci-fi mind-benders (“Inception” and “Interstellar”) or sweeping war dramas (“Dunkirk”). But who else could turn a sword-and-sandal adventure that’s R-rated, nearly three hours long and isn’t a sequel into populist fare?

“By any right, this three-hour epic would be viewed as a risk if anyone else had done it,” says Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “But he’s used his success to cultivate a wide audience. There’s an incredible amount of goodwill for Nolan as a filmmaker, not just in the industry but also with casual moviegoers.”

After “The Odyssey,” studios might not even wait to hear Nolan’s next pitch before writing the filmmaker a blank check.

All-Audience Blockbuster

People have jokingly referred to “The Odyssey” as the ultimate dad movie, yet Nolan even captivated the TikTok generation. A surprising 50% of audience members were between 18 and 34 years old, underscoring the director’s appeal to cinephiles of all ages. That’s a notable turnout for moviegoers under a certain age, considering Bronze-Age epics aren’t exactly the genre du jour of Gen Z.

“The easy and natural assumption is ‘The Odyssey’ would have an older fanbase,” says Robbins. “But Nolan tapped into all crowds. It’s a sword-and-sandal movie, but it’s also a fantasy adventure and a reflective character study. The story translates across ages.”

Contrast that to Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi conspiracy thriller “Disclosure Day,” which appealed overwhelmingly to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, with 60% of opening weekend crowds above 35 years old. Spielberg, a household name thanks to behemoths like “Jaws,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Jurassic Park,” may be the most commercially successful director of all time. After spending much of the past decade on adult dramas like “The Post,” “The Fabelmans” and “West Side Story,” however, he’s not as popular in the eyes of younger moviegoers as he is with their parents.

All About the Big Screen

Any ol’ marketing guru can turn a movie like “Barbie,” “Wicked” or “The Devil Wears Prada 2” into a leave-the-home worthy event. With “The Odyssey,” Universal turned not just the film but the cinematic experience into a cultural happening. People weren’t just eager to see “The Odyssey,” they wanted to watch the battles with gods, monsters and witches on the biggest of screens. That was all by design. “The Odyssey’s” big-screen journey began long, long ago — last summer, when Imax tickets went on sale (and promptly sold out) an entire year before the movie’s premiere. To further drive home the point that Nolan’s films are designed for cinemas, audiences were treated last December to the nearly six-minute prologue of “The Odyssey” ahead of Imax 70mm screenings of “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.” There was no confusion that theaters would be the only place to catch “The Odyssey” for the foreseeable future.

“Nolan is one of the most trusted filmmakers ever, and audiences know he’s going to deliver something that you want to experience on the big screen,” Orr says.

All the Hype Was Justified

Anticipation was high for “The Odyssey” on the heels of 2023’s “Oppenheimer,” Nolan’s first Oscar best-picture winner. But goodwill wouldn’t last long without quality to match the hype. In that respect, “The Odyssey” doesn’t just talk the talk. It’s one of the best-reviewed films of the year, securing an “A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls and a sterling 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Word-of-mouth is everything in today’s fractured moviegoing landscape, and this weekend’s sentiment was clear: If you didn’t see “The Odyssey,” you were better left behind on the sandy beaches of Troy.