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+.
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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?
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
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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?

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Bucky74
Bucky74 - 8/17/2026, 5:24 PM
@Batmangina - How much you wanna bet they had to cut the tranny and black Helen from that release
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 8/17/2026, 5:24 PM
@Batmangina - How much you wanna bet they had to cut the tranny and black Helen from that release?
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.
XenoJazz
XenoJazz - 8/17/2026, 5:11 PM
Favorite movie of the year so far. Incredible experience

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