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The Odyssey passes $1 billion at the global box office
Published 22:00 7 Aug 2026 BST
Updated 10:43 8 Aug 2026 BST
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The Odyssey is sailing into the record books
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has sailed past $1 billion at the global box office, becoming one of only a handful of 2026 releases to reach the milestone. The star-studded epic, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, hit a worldwide total of $1.008 billion just three weeks after opening on 17 July.
What The Odyssey's box office haul means for Nolan
The film has taken $429.65 million domestically and $578.8 million internationally, according to figures reported by Variety. It is Nolan's first film since 2012's The Dark Knight Rises to clear $1 billion, and within days is expected to become his highest-grossing release ever, eclipsing that film's $1.08 billion haul. It is also only the third R-rated film to pass the mark, after Joker and Deadpool & Wolverine. Joe previously charted The Odyssey's box office milestone and Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record run on the way to the same club.
It is a remarkable accomplishment — especially for an adult-skewing drama that's nearly three hours long and adapted from a nearly 3,000-year-old poem — solidifying Nolan as the most bankable filmmaker of his generation.
That verdict, from Variety, caps a stunning run: The Odyssey is the fifth film of 2026 to top $1 billion, after The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, Toy Story 5 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With two more milestones in sight, Nolan's Homer adaptation is not done writing records yet.
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