The Odyssey opens with $17.6 million in U.S. previews, near $40 million global total

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opened with $17.6 million in Thursday previews in the U.S. and was already approaching a near $40 million global total as Universal rolled it out into theaters. The 2-hour, 52-minute, R-rated Greek epic is being watched as more than a fan surge: it is a live test of whether premium theatrical releases still command mass audiences in a streaming era.

The early pace landed close to the movie’s pre-release box office expectations. Tracking had pointed to a roughly $200 million-plus global debut and about $80 million to $100 million domestically, and the preview total put it among the year’s biggest launch numbers. The nearest recent benchmark was Superman, which made $22.5 million in previews and held the best preview mark of 2025 so far.

Nolan’s own box-office history shows why exhibitors are paying attention. Oppenheimer opened to $80 million domestically and went on to become a worldwide smash, while Tenet, released in a far harsher pandemic market, started with $20 million in the U.S. and about $53 million worldwide in its launch frame. The Odyssey is chasing that same premium-fare audience with a long runtime, an R rating, and a cast built around star power, from Matt Damon as Odysseus to Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Benny Safdie and Jon Bernthal.

The launch also arrived amid online backlash over casting and historical authenticity. Comments were restricted on the film’s official social posts as the debate intensified, and Nolan brushed off the criticism, calling it “irrelevant” and saying he had spent “10 years” dealing with similar scrutiny through the Batman franchise. The controversy has only widened the film’s profile, turning a Greek myth adaptation into a broader conversation about race, authenticity and what audiences expect from a major studio event.

Homer’s Odyssey is traditionally dated to about 750 B.C., and National Geographic has noted that Odysseus’s journey home took 10 years after the Trojan War. Nolan’s version has now turned that ancient story into a modern box-office stress test, with preview receipts offering an early measure of how much theatrical spectacle can still move nationally in 2026.