Odyssey Shatters Records: Tops Most Controversial Star Wars at Box Office!

The recent premiere of The Odyssey has set a new benchmark, eclipsing a controversial Star Wars installment in terms of records.

Directed by Christopher Nolan and inspired by the classic poem by Homer, The Odyssey launched to tremendous success, securing the number one spot at the box office. It amassed a domestic total of $124.5 million and a global haul of $264.1 million during its opening weekend. This debut set a new record for Nolan, surpassing the $249 million global opening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Captured with IMAX 70mm cameras, The Odyssey set another record at the IMAX theater of the British Film Institute — the UK’s largest screen — by pulling in £219,867 (approximately $296,147) from a single screen, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. This achievement marked the highest-grossing opening weekend both at this venue and across all IMAX theaters in the UK.

Madeleine Mullett, the program manager at BFI IMAX, commented on the film’s success, stating, “The unprecedented demand for our IMAX 70mm presentation of The Odyssey, delivered as the filmmakers envisioned, unquestionably confirms the strong desire of audiences for authentic cinematic experiences.” She further noted that BFI IMAX is the sole UK theater to possess a complete collection of Nolan’s films in IMAX 70mm format.

“As the only cinema in the U.K. that holds a complete collection of Christopher Nolan’s IMAX 70mm films, now including The Odyssey, we are proud to serve as the archival home of Nolan’s work on film. The BFI’s dedication to preserving and celebrating film, along with the directors who advocate for this medium, highlights the timeless appeal of storytelling and the unique shared experience of watching films in their intended format. The overwhelming demand for our IMAX 70mm showing of The Odyssey, as envisioned by the filmmakers, is definitive proof of the audience’s craving for genuinely authentic cinema.”

Previously, Star Wars: The Last Jedi held the BFI IMAX record with an opening weekend gross of £216,454 in 2017. With The Odyssey now in the lead, The Last Jedi has moved to second place, pushing down Nolan’s Oppenheimer to third with £207,677.

During the initial eight weeks of The Odyssey, the BFI IMAX reported that 173 screenings in IMAX 70mm were completely sold out. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, released in 2017 as part of the sequel trilogy from George Lucas’s original franchise, was directed by Rian Johnson. Despite critical acclaim, the film was divisive among fans, contrasting sharply with its predecessor, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which enjoyed high ratings from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nearly a decade after its release, The Odyssey has outperformed The Last Jedi at the BFI IMAX theater. The film features a stellar ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Samantha Morton, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, and Elliot Page.

Currently the top movie both in domestic and international markets, The Odyssey is rated as Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, boasting a critic score of 95% and an audience score of 97%. Nolan, who directed and wrote the screenplay, sees this project as his major cinematic endeavor following 2023’s Oppenheimer. Other notable films directed by Nolan include Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception, and the The Dark Knight trilogy.