Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Scores $37 Million China Opening Weekend

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Scores $37 Million China Opening Weekend

The Odyssey just launched in China after dominating the global box office. Can Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster shatter even more records?

By MarkJulian - Aug 17, 2026 04:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantasy
Source: SFFGazette.com

It might seem like Spider-Man: Brand New Day is playing on every single movie theater screen around the world, given its gargantuan box office earnings  but Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey isn't going quietly into the night.

Since landing in theaters on July 17, the fantasy epic has quietly sailed to a staggering $1.29 billion worldwide.

It pulled in another $121.4 million over the weekend ($23.2 million at home and $98.2 million overseas), thanks largely to a strong $36.6 million second-place start in China.

Current tracking now puts its final tally somewhere between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion.

The Universal Pictures collaboration is Nolan's first non-Batman film to reach $1 billion, although 2023's Oppenheimer came very close with $975 million.

Christopher Nolan has not officially announced or set his next feature project after The Odyssey

In fact, during the film's press run, he indicated that he would be taking an extended break and that his next film would not hit theaters in his usual three-year cycle

  • 2026 The Odyssey
  • 2023 Oppenheimer
  • 2020 Tenet
  • 2017 Dunkirk
  • 2014 Interstellar

Nolan indicated that the brutal shooting conditions of The Odyssey tested his stamina, stating, "I definitely hit the limits of my own stamina and everybody's stamina, I think."

As for what's next, Nolan indicated that he's interested in making a horror movie but that he finds the genre difficult to navigate, personally, as he would want his horror film to have a solid, original narrative core.

One genre Nolan won't be tackling is romantic comedy, as he admitted that he's a bit intimidated by those films during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Nolan explained to Fallon, "When you make a film... you know, if I show a film to people and maybe they don't respond to bits of it, I'm like, 'Ah, they don't get it. Whatever.' There's no hiding behind that when you do comedy. So, I would be terrified of doing anything like that."

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. 

The Odyssey stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o, with Zendaya and Charlize Theron.

The Odyssey is produced by Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan for their company, Syncopy. The executive producer is Thomas Hayslip. 

About The Author:
MarkJulian
Member Since 6/8/2011
CBM writer for a decade+.
Dungeons & Dragons Directors Say Hasbro Is Still Seeking Studio Partner For Sequel
Related:

Dungeons & Dragons Directors Say Hasbro Is Still Seeking Studio Partner For Sequel

Black Cat Comic Will Seemingly Reveal That Felicia Hardy Is A Mutant - And She's Getting A New Costume!
Recommended For You:

Black Cat Comic Will Seemingly Reveal That Felicia Hardy Is A Mutant - And She's Getting A New Costume!

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
OneMoreTime
OneMoreTime - 8/17/2026, 4:44 PM
Great Job Universal Studios.
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/17/2026, 4:45 PM
@LiquidSwords - "Current tracking now puts its final tally somewhere between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion"

:)
FireGunn
FireGunn - 8/17/2026, 5:00 PM
@Lucasberg - He all but disappeared. He said it was going to make less than 600 million to me LOL
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/17/2026, 5:13 PM
@FireGunn - Yes he and I have had many debates by now about the quality and alleged problems of the movie and whether or not this movie would fail.

I'm saddened to see him absolutely take a WHOOPING over how wrong he was about this movie like in every aspect muahhahaha.

To be clear though, no ill will meant towards him. Its all in good fun.
JonBenke
JonBenke - 8/17/2026, 5:22 PM
@Lucasberg - I thought this movie was supposed to bomb!! The Right people told me, convinced me .. they wouldn’t see it, so therefore - it’d bomb!! What?
Lucasberg
Lucasberg - 8/17/2026, 6:00 PM
@JonBenke - my conservative buddies were dead wrong about the movie sad to say lol
LiquidSwords
LiquidSwords - 8/26/2026, 11:14 PM
@Lucasberg - And no number of tickets sold to account for. Still juiced numbers, too. 😀
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 8/17/2026, 4:46 PM
u just no that GUN wood hav shot the Odyssey in the head in the first episode
User Comment Image
FireGunn
FireGunn - 8/17/2026, 4:59 PM
Where is @LiqudSwords at? Lmao
Batmangina
Batmangina - 8/17/2026, 5:02 PM
Who loves black and trans people more than anyone?

User Comment Image
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 8/17/2026, 5:26 PM
@Batmangina - I guarantee they cut Ellen of Tranny and the Black Helen from that release.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 8/17/2026, 5:29 PM
@Bucky74 - Helen of Troy in the Chinese release:

User Comment Image
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 3:57 AM
@Bucky74 - they should've also cut it from the general release.
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 3:58 AM
@Batmangina - how do explain The Fast and Furious franchise making so much money there?
Batmangina
Batmangina - 8/18/2026, 7:33 AM
@JusticeL - The entire planet has been in love with the American Automobile and its Car Culture for 100 years.

Those movies were like Godzilla with cars - nobody gives a tug about the story or the actors.
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 8/18/2026, 10:42 AM
@JusticeL - 😂😂😂
DocSpock
DocSpock - 8/17/2026, 5:07 PM

This was an epic movie. It was also the first movie I saw in IMAX. It was so worth it.
ThorArms
ThorArms - 8/17/2026, 5:10 PM
An R-rated film (that isn't Deadpool) doing $1.6-1.8 billion is truly insane.
TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 8/17/2026, 9:32 PM
@ThorArms - You put Nolan's name on any movie and it makes an additional half a billion or more. If this movie was released exactly as it is, but with another director's name attached, it comes nowhere close to a billion. I'm not saying this in a negative way against the movie; I'm just pointing out that this man's name can bring in people who would otherwise not show up.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/17/2026, 5:11 PM
Favorite movie of the year so far. Incredible experience
LeonNova
LeonNova - 8/17/2026, 5:29 PM
The chuds on twitter tried to say the film was going to bomb lol
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 4:00 AM
@LeonNova - TBF, they didn't say it would tank, but was very critical of the casting choices.
LeonNova
LeonNova - 8/18/2026, 6:19 AM
@JusticeL - Nah man, there were some people trying to say it would bomb. I saw so much goal-post moving when it kept performing well at the box office.
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 8/17/2026, 5:30 PM
Watched this film 2 nights ago and couldn't fathom how bad it is. I finished a re- read of the odyssey within the last 7 days and this film is a terrible representation of the myth. Dull, drab, lifeless and uninspired. Zendaya, bernthal and damon in particular were all awful. The dialogue took me out of the film almost immediately too.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 8/17/2026, 7:39 PM
@SteviesRightFoo -
User Comment Image
SteviesRightFoo
SteviesRightFoo - 8/17/2026, 7:57 PM
@bobevanz - 👍
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 4:02 AM
@SteviesRightFoo - the modern dialogue didn't bother me as much as I thought it would do. I did enjoy the movie, but the casting choices still baffled me.
Forthas
Forthas - 8/17/2026, 5:41 PM
When you provide the audience with epic, well-written films and a superb cast, you get what you deserve, which in this case is critical acclaim and out-of-this-world box-office success.

User Comment Image

Mr. Nolan! I salute you!
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 4:07 AM
@Forthas - I enjoyed the movie but disagree with you on 'well-written' and 'superb cast'. It could have been better written. And you can swap out the entire cast for another and they would've done the same job. It was an event movie, and people turned up for the event.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 8/17/2026, 5:42 PM
Sweet , I feel this film has been somewhat overshadowed by the gargantuan success of BND but its success has also been well deserved imo since I thought it was quite good (my favorite of Nolan’s since Inception).

Looking forward to his next film whenever & whatever it may be though I hope it’s a horror film since certain sequences in The Odyssey such as the Circe one with Odysseus’s men were truly unnerving so it would be cool to see him further ingrained in that genre more tbh!!.
Waifuslayer2
Waifuslayer2 - 8/17/2026, 5:45 PM
It's already been forgotten. The whole movie felt like it was gutted during editing and the performances were so bizarre.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/17/2026, 7:29 PM
@Waifuslayer2 - Already forgotten?? My theater showing IMAX 70 MM of the Odyssey is sold out through September.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 8/17/2026, 7:40 PM
@Waifuslayer2 - how [frick]ing stupid are you
User Comment Image
newmutantsRETURNS
newmutantsRETURNS - 8/17/2026, 11:18 PM
@Waifuslayer2 - you cant be this dumb....wait.. you are..
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 4:29 AM
@Waifuslayer2 - ditto.
Nolanite
Nolanite - 8/17/2026, 5:56 PM
I'm very proud AF of my idol Mr Christopher Nolan

Nolanite out
dracula
dracula - 8/17/2026, 5:56 PM
The man who snyder’s cult think he is
Pimpanzee
Pimpanzee - 8/17/2026, 6:05 PM
@dracula - He's Michael Bay for pretentious rubes
dracula
dracula - 8/17/2026, 6:33 PM
@Pimpanzee - yup

Difference between Bay and Snyder is

Bay is aware of how stupid his stuff is
JusticeL
JusticeL - 8/18/2026, 4:30 AM
@dracula - 💯 agree
1 2

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder