The Odyssey continued to exert a mighty hold on moviegoers in its second weekend, both in the US and globally. The epic from Christopher Nolan has earned more in its second weekend than his last release, Oppenheimer, managed in its opening weekend. This is a staggering achievement for the R-rated adventure, which is also breaking the bank internationally.
Market Context
AP quoted Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends, as saying, “That would be an impressive opening weekend for any film. This is a testament to the outpouring of excitement and enthusiasm that moviegoers are having for Christopher Nolan’s latest epic.”
The Odyssey leaves Oppenheimer behind
The Odyssey opened at $123 million in its opening weekend and remained steady over the week, hardly showing the big drops that tentpole films are accustomed to. In its second weekend, Universal Pictures said that the film earned $87 million. This is the second-best second weekend for an R-rated film after Deadpool and Wolverine. The mere 30% drop from the first weekend is a record for any major studio-backed R-rated feature.
Impressively, the $87 million The Odyssey earned in its second weekend is more than what Nolan’s Oppenheimer had managed in its opening weekend three years ago. The biographical drama had earned $82 million in its first three days in 2023.
The strong earnings for The Odyssey are partly due to Nolan’s goodwill and partly due to a lack of competition with no major releases alongside it in the last two weeks. These open waters will become a little more crowded next weekend when audiences get another blockbuster option with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Some analysts say that Spider-Man could net the biggest opening weekend of the year. Still, Nolan’s film will have its run of most IMAX screens for weeks to come.
Based on Homer’s epic, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, on a perilous ten-year journey back home after the Trojan War. The film also stars Anne Hathaway as his wife Penelope and Tom Holland as his son Telemachus, along with Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita N’yongo, Samantha Morton, and Zendaya in key roles.
Future Forecast
With $128.3 million from international theatres in its second weekend, The Odyssey has continued its monopoly globally. After ten days, it has made an estimated $639.6 million globally. Theatres around the world are adding showtimes to try to meet the demand, Dergarabedian said.
As with last weekend, much of that sum is from premium large-format screens. IMAX screens alone accounted for $48 million of the global earnings this weekend. The coveted 70 mm IMAX screens, of which there are only 41 worldwide, earned $5.2 million. Most of those showtimes are sold out through September, the company said.
