Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has crossed a major studio milestone, becoming the highest-grossing film in Universal Pictures history less than two months into its theatrical run.
Universal announced the benchmark on Saturday, with the Matt Damon-led epic’s weekend performance set to lift its domestic total to $601.2 million. Internationally, the film has reached $1.083 billion in ticket sales, bringing its worldwide total to $1.68 billion.
The achievement gives the 114-year-old studio a new all-time box office leader and adds another record to what has already become a historic run for Nolan, producer Emma Thomas and Universal.
“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,” said Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment.
“The Odyssey” recently returned to the No. 1 position at the box office in its eighth weekend in theaters. The film also delivered the biggest opening of Nolan’s career, surpassing “The Dark Knight Rises,” and now stands as Nolan’s highest-grossing film to date.
The film was produced by Thomas and Nolan through their Syncopy banner, with Thomas Hayslip serving as executive producer.
Beyond Universal’s internal record, “The Odyssey” has collected a series of broader box office distinctions. It is now the top-grossing R-rated film in history and the biggest earner ever for IMAX. The movie, based on 3,000-year-old IP, is also the first non-sequel film to gross more than $1 billion overseas since 2009.
The success further strengthens the partnership between Nolan and Universal. Langley brought Nolan to the studio after his departure from Warner Bros. in 2021, a move that preceded Universal’s best picture winner “Oppenheimer” and now “The Odyssey,” described in the source material as a best picture hopeful.
The milestone arrives during an especially strong year for Universal. The studio leads all studios in 2026 with 26% market share and has grossed nearly $5 billion to date. Universal is also the first studio this year to cross $4 billion at the global box office and the first to cross $3 billion internationally.
For Nolan, “The Odyssey” now represents both a personal commercial peak and a major chapter in Universal’s current box office dominance. For the studio, the film’s $1.68 billion worldwide total marks a new high-water mark in a 114-year history.