Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has now passed Deadpool and Wolverine's global box office total to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
Marvel Studios' 2024 superhero team-up blockbuster had held the record with a $1.338 billion worldwide haul, which Nolan's fantasy epic was still trailing by roughly $47 million just a couple of days ago. That gap has been narrowing since the movie's release in China, and has now closed.
The Odyssey's global total is now believed to be around $1.34 billion, and the film is still in theaters.
Deadpool and Wolverine carried a reported combined production and marketing budget of $537 million, while The Odyssey cost a reported $250 million to produce.
Nolan spoke about The Odyssey's success and how Oppenheimer helped get the movie made during a recent interview with John Stewart.
"Coming out of my last film, Oppenheimer had way more success than I think we had any right to expect,” explained Nolan. “And that gives you an opportunity to get something made that you might not otherwise be able to get made.”
“I think the Oscar thing helped," he added. "I think it all helped to go to the studio and say — because being The Odyssey, it needs a massive budget. It needs a massive cast. It needs a lot. I like to say it was a very hard movie, but hard for all the right reasons. It’s The Odyssey. It should be hard. It shows up on screen.”
Ryan Reynolds has taken to social media to congratulate The Odyssey... on being a hell of a car!
"Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Odyssey for becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. That is one helluva car."
"Christopher Nolan’s next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand-new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026," said Universal Pictures in a statement when the project was announced.
The poem has been adapted (sometimes very loosely) a number of times before, starting with the 1911 silent film by Giuseppe de Liguoro, and followed by 1954’s Ulysses starring Kirk Douglas. The Cohen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) is also based on the epic adventure, as is 2024’s The Return starring Ralph Fiennes.
Anime fans may also recall the '80s Ulysses 31 series, which put a futuristic spin on the tale.