Filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is rewriting the record books for the auteur when it comes to box office collections. After recording the best opening for a Nolan film, it has maintained its pace on weekdays, easily crossing $300 million and inching closer to $400 million by the end of its first week in theatres.
Event Context
In India, the film has earned over ₹100 crore gross in the first week of release, emerging as the biggest Hollywood film of the year at the Indian box office.
The Odyssey opened at $264 million worldwide, of which around $140 million came from outside North America. By its seventh day, the film should cross $190 million in North America alone and sit close to $200 million. The overseas market has done better and while exact numbers will only arrive by Saturday, trade insiders estimate the film has earned over $210 million internationally already. This gives The Odyssey week 1 earnings of over $400 million.
The Odyssey is based on Homer’s epic and revolves around the Greek King Odysseus (Matt Damon) on a perilous 10-year journey home after the Trojan War. Beset by vengeful gods, sea monsters, and enchantresses, he fights to reunite with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
The film also stars Zendaya as Athena, Robert Pattinson as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and Charlize Theron as Calypso, among others
Produced under Syncopy Inc and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film released globally on July 17.
Team Analysis
India is one of the biggest overseas markets for The Odyssey, evident by how Nolan and the team chose to keep one of the film’s five global premieres in Mumbai. The hype is real indeed, box office returns show. The Odyssey earned ₹70 crore gross in India in its opening weekend and crossed ₹100 crore gross by Thursday.
“A journey is measured by distance, not by how it begins. The Odyssey’s opening told us India was ready to show up. What has followed since, audiences returning day after day to fill every cinema screen available, tells us something more valuable. This is trust, not a moment. Crossing ₹100 crore within a week is a number,” Denzil Dias, vice president and managing director, Warner Bros Pictures India, said in a statement.
