The Odyssey is set to become Universal’s biggest movie ever at the worldwide box office, with its global total expected to reach $1.684 billion by the end of this weekend.
That haul puts the Christopher Nolan film ahead of Universal’s previous all-time leader, 2015’s Jurassic World, which finished its run with $1.677 billion globally. By Sunday, The Odyssey will stand at $601.2 million domestically and $1.083 billion internationally.
The new benchmark also places The Odyssey as the 12th-highest-grossing film ever worldwide and the third-biggest non-franchise title of all time, according to the figures supplied. Its run has been marked by unusual staying power: the film has posted a 6.33x multiple at the global box office and returned to No. 1 worldwide in its eighth weekend, while dropping just 9% domestically.
The Universal milestone arrives after The Odyssey had already become Nolan’s highest-grossing film, both in North America and worldwide. Domestically, it passed Dark Knight’s $534.9 million, while globally it moved beyond $1.085 billion.
“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.
A run stacked with records
The Odyssey opened by setting multiple marks for Nolan and Universal. Its debut was the biggest opening for director Christopher Nolan internationally and globally, ahead of Dark Knight Rises, with $139.6 million international and $264.1 million worldwide.
The film also delivered the biggest domestic opening weekend for Imax 70MM, with $6.3 million, and the biggest Universal R-rated opening weekend domestically, with $123.5 million.
Its cumulative records have continued to build from there. The Odyssey is now Nolan’s highest-grossing film domestically, internationally and globally. It is also the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, surpassing Deadpool & Wolverine’s $1.33 billion.
The film has also become the highest-grossing movie ever for Imax, with more than $486 million worldwide. Internationally, it is the first non-sequel and non-remake to gross more than $1 billion since 2009.
Among the other box-office benchmarks cited for the film, The Odyssey is listed as the second-highest-grossing film of the year after Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is approaching $935 million-plus by Sunday.
The international footprint has been particularly significant for Universal. In addition to becoming the studio’s top global earner, The Odyssey is now the highest-grossing Universal Pictures film of all time in 45 international markets, including Australia, France, Italy, India and Korea.
Domestically, however, The Odyssey remains No. 2 among Universal Pictures releases, still behind Jurassic World, which grossed $653.4 million in North America.
Universal’s bigger box-office year
The studio’s latest record comes during a year in which Universal continues to lead all major studios with more than $4.92 billion to date. Universal was also the first studio this year to cross $4 billion at the global box office and the first to cross $3 billion internationally.
With The Odyssey now passing Jurassic World worldwide, Universal has a new all-time global champion — and Nolan’s film adds another major benchmark to a theatrical run that has already rewritten records across domestic, international, Imax and R-rated categories.