Turns out, summer moviegoers didn’t need another superhero film.
Or another animated sequel.
Or another established franchise.
What instead got moviegoers to really buy tickets was a 2,800-year-old Greek epic.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opened to a spectacular $125 million in the U.S., crushing industry expectations of $70–80 million.
Worldwide the film opened to $264 million, which is the highest global debut EVER for a non-franchise live-action film, beating Avatar’s debut of $242 million in 2009.
That’s also Nolan’s biggest opening ever, outside of The Dark Knight series, and one of the biggest box office successes of the year.
More importantly, after a summer filled with underperforming blockbuster tentpoles (Mandalorian & Grogu, Masters of the Universe, Supergirl, Moana), Hollywood finally has another genuine hit on their hands this summer.
So why did The Odyssey work so well?
Here are 3 thoughts:
1. OLD STORIES CAN STILL FEEL BRAND NEW
It’s easy to forget that The Odyssey isn’t just another book adaptation.
It’s one of the oldest surviving stories in human history.
Written by Homer around 700 BCE, Homer’s epic The Odyssey follows the hero Odysseus on a 10-year journey to get home.
The story has remained relevant across countless generations inspiring everything from fantasy adventures, to modern science fiction.
Most people encounter the story at some point in school.
Others know it through adaptations.
My personal favorite was the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? a loose adaptation set in 1930s Mississippi with comedic characters and great music.
But a film adaptation of The Odyssey in its full epic glory, yet reachable to modern audiences, is the “NEW” creation Nolan’s offering to audiences.
I saw the film over the weekend, and it absolutely delivers.
The film satisfies longtime fans of Homer’s epic, while still functioning as a massive summer action spectacle for general audiences.
And rather than focus on the intervention with Gods that was more part of the plot in the original poem, Nolan shows us a timely message: when people abandon trust, hospitality, and shared moral obligations in pursuit of power (e.g. use a Trojan Horse to gain access to destroy), they set themselves and future generations up for decline.
That message makes the film feel surprisingly relevant to today.
2. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN HAS BECOME HIS OWN FRANCHISE
At this point, Christopher Nolan isn’t simply a director. He’s an event.
Coming off the success of Oppenheimer, audiences were already eager to see whatever he made next.
And Nolan rewarded that trust, with The Odyssey outperforming Oppenheimer’s debut of $82 million in 2023.
With this film, Nolan assembled one of the most impressive ensemble casts in years:
- Matt Damon
- Anne Hathaway
- Tom Holland
- Zendaya
- Robert Pattinson
- Lupita Nyong’o
- Charlize Theron
- Jon Bernthal
The cast also made this feel like must-see cinema.
51% of the audience said they came because “it’s a Christopher Nolan” movie.
That’s an incredibly rare level of brand equity for any filmmaker.
The film’s genre almost doesn’t even matter.
Nolan’s done:
- Sci-fi (Interstellar)
- War (Dunkirk)
- Superhero (The Dark Knight)
- Historical drama (Oppenheimer)
- Ancient mythology (The Odyssey)
If Nolan directs it, audiences will likely trust that it’ll be worth seeing in theaters.
3. PREMIUM THEATRICAL EXPERIENCES STILL MATTER
A huge part of the marketing centered around the fact that the ENTIRE film (so every scene) was shot with IMAX 70mm cameras.
That’s a first in Hollywood history! And that strategy clearly paid off.
I’d wager the average moviegoer doesn’t really understand why IMAX 70mm is worth it. But what they do get is that the film’s visuals will be amazing – so amazing that you shouldn’t wait to see it on your small screen, but head to the theaters to see it in all its visual glory.
Only 41 theaters worldwide are capable of showing the film in IMAX 70mm, yet those locations accounted for roughly 5% of the film’s opening-night gross.
Some IMAX 70mm theaters (including Universal City in Los Angeles & Lincoln Square in New York), have been running the film 24 hours a day, with sold-out screenings at 2 a.m. and even 6 a.m.!! That’s wild!
Imagine watching The Odyssey, then exiting the theater right as the sun comes up.
Even more impressive, 58% of the film’s opening-night ticket sales came from Premium Large Format screens (IMAX, 70mm, Dolby Cinema, etc.).
For comparison, most major blockbusters typically generate around 40–45% of their opening-night business from premium formats.
But by shooting the entire film in IMAX 70mm, Nolan gave audiences something they simply couldn’t replicate at home.
To summarize, even an ancient story can be gripping, if told in the right way. And a Nolan movie now comes with such a stamp of approval, people will go see it because they know it will be good. That, and the knowledge that this spectacle will be even better on the big screen, all contributed into making The Odyssey not just another summer release, but one of the year’s biggest theatrical events.
So, just how far can it go?
WHAT’S NEXT? HOW FAR WILL THE ODYSSEY GO?
With outstanding reviews and word of mouth (95% critics score form Rotten Tomatoes, plus an A from CinemaScore), I’m expecting The Odyssey to have massive staying power for the rest of the summer.
The biggest obstacle ahead is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, arriving 7/31 in two weeks, with what should be a $200-250+ million opening.
Ironically, Spider-Man may actually help The Odyssey.
Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jon Bernthal all star prominently in both films, meaning every interview promoting one movie naturally reminds audiences about the other.
After Spider-Man, the release calendar becomes much lighter.
Outside of Warner Bros.’ smaller dinosaur thriller The End of Oak Street, there isn’t another major event film threatening its adult audience.
I’m expecting an ending total of $400-475+ million domestically, and $1-1.2+ Billion worldwide for The Odyssey once it’s done.
That would make The Odyssey one of the year’s biggest hits, as well as one of the highest-grossing R-rated films ever made.
FINAL TAKEAWAY
Christopher Nolan has reached a place very few filmmakers ever go.
He no longer needs superheroes, like Batman, or even established franchises.
He can take one of humanity’s oldest stories, spend hundreds of millions bringing it to life, and convince audiences it’s the biggest event movie of the summer.
That’s an extraordinary achievement.
And perhaps the biggest lesson from The Odyssey isn’t about mythology at all.
It’s about trust.
Audiences at this point trust Christopher Nolan enough to follow him anywhere. It’ll be exciting to see what story he tells next.
And that’s it for this weekend’s box office! Have you seen The Odyssey yet? If so, what did you think of it, and why do you think it’s doing so well at the box office?
Zan Hollywood Box Office - Analysis Site 
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