Christopher Nolan has broken his own box office record with "The Odyssey," which has now grossed $1.1 billion worldwide, surpassing his previous highest-grossing film, "The Dark Knight Rises," which earned $1.08 billion in 2012. The 2009 film "The Dark Knight" previously reached $1 billion.
The Universal Pictures release, which stars Matt Damon as the protagonist Odysseus on his journey home after the Trojan War, added $31.5 million in its fourth weekend. The film has also become Imax's highest-grossing domestic release of all time, with $147.3 million from the company's large-format screens.
"The Odyssey" is set to open in China on Friday, its last major market. The film has achieved a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, placing it among Nolan's most critically acclaimed works, alongside "The Dark Knight," which also holds a 94% critic score.
Brian Viner of the Daily Mail described the film as a "glorious cinematic experience, a triumph both of story-telling and movie-making," and noted that "one viewing simply isn't enough" for the nearly three-hour-long movie.
The success of "The Odyssey" and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has contributed to Hollywood's strongest box office year since the pandemic. Ticket sales are up 18.5% compared to last year, according to Rentrak data. This year has already seen five films surpass the $1 billion mark, more than in any year since 2019.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day," starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, has also performed exceptionally well, grossing $1.67 billion worldwide in just ten days. Domestically, it has earned $655.1 million in U.S. and Canadian cinemas and has already surpassed $1 billion overseas. It took only seven days for "Spider-Man" to become the highest-grossing movie of the year, surpassing "Toy Story 5."