From Imax records to A-list buzz: Why ‘The Odyssey’ defied every box office expectation

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ just delivered one of the biggest surprises of summer. The film opened to $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million worldwide. That makes it Nolan’s biggest global debut ever, ahead of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’

Early projections had the film pulling in somewhere between $80 million and $100 million domestically. Instead, it blew past that range by a wide margin. Here are five reasons why.

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1. Nolan’s name still sells tickets

Christopher Nolan has built a reputation few directors can match. His track record includes ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Inception,’ ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Interstellar.’ Each film added to his standing as one of the few filmmakers who can open a movie purely on his name.

That reputation grew even stronger after ‘Oppenheimer’ in 2023. The three-hour, R-rated biopic became a cultural phenomenon during the ‘Barbenheimer’ summer, then went on to win the Oscar for best picture. It opened at $82 million domestically and finished with $330 million in North America and $975 million worldwide.

Box office analyst David A. Gross, who publishes the newsletter FranchiseRe, called ‘The Odyssey’ a true showcase of Nolan’s pull with audiences. Having directed 13 films, Nolan now draws a loyal following that shows up no matter the subject matter.

2. Imax turned into a box office weapon

Imax played a central role in this opening. The format brought in $51.8 million, or 23 percent, of the film’s global ticket sales. That stands as Imax’s biggest opening ever in comparable markets, ahead of even ‘Avengers: Endgame.’

The reason comes down to the cameras themselves. Imax equipment is heavy and expensive to operate, so most films only use it for select action scenes. ‘The Odyssey’ broke that pattern. It became the first feature ever shot entirely on Imax cameras, something Nolan has described as a long-standing goal of his career.

Imax CEO Richard Gelfond made the pitch directly to audiences after opening weekend, saying anyone who skips the Imax version isn’t seeing the film the way Nolan intended. Moviegoers responded. The film is currently outpacing even ‘Oppenheimer,’ which brought in $35 million from Imax screens during its own opening weekend.

3. The cast pulled in every age group

‘The Odyssey’ features one of the largest ensembles of any recent release. Matt Damon leads the film as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca making his way home after the Trojan War. He is joined by Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal and Elliot Page.

That range of stars helped the film reach a wide mix of moviegoers. Men made up 56 percent of the general audience, and more than three-quarters of ticket buyers over age 25 were male. At the same time, half of the total audience fell between ages 18 and 34, showing the film pulled in younger viewers as well as older ones.

The press tour leaned heavily on the size of the cast in the weeks leading up to release. The London premiere turned into its own media event, with outlets covering the red carpet arrivals almost as closely as the film itself.

4. Reviews and word of mouth were excellent

Strong reviews gave the film another push. ‘The Odyssey’ holds a 95 percent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, placing it among the best-reviewed films of the year. Audiences responded just as well, handing it an ‘A’ grade in CinemaScore exit polls.

That kind of reception matters for a film this long and this violent. At nearly three hours and rated R, ‘The Odyssey’ carried real risk heading into release. R-rated films limit who can buy tickets, and long runtimes cut down on the number of showtimes theaters can schedule in a single day. Strong word of mouth helped offset both of those challenges.

The timing also worked in the film’s favor. Two major franchise releases this summer, ‘Supergirl’ and ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu,’ underperformed and received mixed reviews. That left an opening for a film with genuine buzz behind it, and ‘The Odyssey’ filled it.

5. Advance hype built for over a year

The marketing rollout for ‘The Odyssey’ started unusually early. Imax 70mm tickets went on sale a full year before the release date, an approach theater chains linked directly to the success Nolan saw with ‘Oppenheimer,’ which earned more than $190 million of its total gross from Imax screens alone.

That early ticket window paid off. Advance screenings sold out overnight in cities including Melbourne and London. One Imax general manager described the demand as almost overwhelming given how far out the tickets went on sale.

By the time the film reached theaters, anticipation had been building for months. The combination of early ticket sales, festival buzz and a heavy publicity push gave ‘The Odyssey’ strong momentum before a single review even ran.