Hollywood spent two decades hedging risk by betting on intellectual property rather than talent. The series has become popular, surpassing the directors and movie stars that once drew audiences to theaters. The stars became Harry Potter, Optimus Prime, Iron Man, and Elsa.
Christopher Nolan is a rare exception, and his No. 1 opening with The Odyssey last weekend, which instantly turned Homer's 3,000-year-old poem into a blockbuster hit, underlined just how extraordinary he is.
“The Odyssey,” the first commercial feature film shot entirely in IMAX, is expected to sell $124.5 million in tickets in the U.S. and Canada between Thursday and Sunday, according to movie data service Rentrac. It will definitely be the biggest domestic release of the year for a live-action film. It ranks third among all 2026 movies, behind Toy Story 5 ($160 million) and Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($132 million).
According to PostTrack, a film industry research service, the majority of ticket buyers cited Nolan as the main reason they bought tickets. The film's ensemble cast ranked second. Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Elliot Page, and Tom Holland play various roles.
IMAX locations delivered approximately 24 percent of the entire opening. AMC Entertainment, the world's largest theater operator, has planned 70mm IMAX screenings at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. in some cities to meet demand. Almost all sold out.
“If you look at the advance sales for the next five weeks, many theaters sold out IMAX movies in the fifth week, so this movie will be playing,” IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said.
Gelfond added, “Nolan used IMAX technology in a way that no one needed to, to create something that no one had ever seen before,” Gelfond added, noting that the company designed a new camera specifically for the film.
Overseas, “The Odyssey” was expected to bring in an additional $139.6 million in ticket sales, for a worldwide opening of approximately $264.1 million. The nearly three-hour blockbuster was produced by husband-and-wife team Nolan and Emma Thomas, who have worked together on numerous films, and cost Universal Pictures an estimated $250 million to make. Marketing easily increased the price by $100 million.
The reviews were sensational. Domestic ticket buyers gave the R-rated film an A grade in the CinemaScore exit poll.
Mr. Nolan's box office breakthrough came in 2005, when his superhero reboot “Batman Begins'' raked in $375.6 million (about $658 million adjusted for inflation). Two more fan-favorite Batman movies followed, along with the original 2010 sci-fi blockbuster Inception, which grossed $1.3 billion in current dollars. Nolan began focusing exclusively on original films in 2014, and has produced hits such as Interstellar, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer, and won seven Oscars in 2024, including Best Picture and Best Director.
In the process, Mr. Nolan accomplished an increasingly rare feat. He became one of the few filmmakers whose name itself served as a commercial brand. While studios spent years teaching their audiences to trust their intellectual property, he taught them to trust him.
“Christopher Nolan is the only filmmaker working today who could take such an ancient story, assemble such an impressive and accomplished cast, and turn it into a pop culture event,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a box office newsletter.
