The Odyssey

[Kelliezgirl]

https://variety.com/2026/film/box-o...ion-globally-fourth-biggest-movie-1236823343/

“The Odyssey” has surpassed $700 million at the global box office, becoming the fourth highest-grossing movie of the year after just 12 days in theaters...

...In the coming week, “The Odyssey” will join those films in the billion-dollar club, a remarkable feat that underscores Nolan’s ability to transform his movies into cultural events...

...“The Odyssey” cost $250 million, marking Nolan’s most expensive film to date. It’ll soon be his most commercially successful, too. It’s primed to overtake “The Dark Knight” ($1.008 billion) and 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises” ($1.08 billion) as the director’s highest-grossing film of all time...

...These ticket sales are all the more impressive considering that “The Odyssey” has yet to open in China, the world’s second-biggest moviegoing market. The country is rolling out the red-carpet treatment for the film, which is expected to land on nearly 800 Imax screens — and across thousands of standard auditoriums on Aug. 14.

Foreign films only get 25% of the ticket revenue from movies released in China. Compared to 40-55% in other markets.

If we are discussing profitability, things like that matter.

For comparison, Super Mario Galaxy released this year made over a billion dollars on a budget less than half of The Odyssey ($110 million vs. $250 million.)

 

[SimonDoom]

https://variety.com/2026/film/box-o...ion-globally-fourth-biggest-movie-1236823343/

“The Odyssey” has surpassed $700 million at the global box office, becoming the fourth highest-grossing movie of the year after just 12 days in theaters...

...In the coming week, “The Odyssey” will join those films in the billion-dollar club, a remarkable feat that underscores Nolan’s ability to transform his movies into cultural events...

...“The Odyssey” cost $250 million, marking Nolan’s most expensive film to date. It’ll soon be his most commercially successful, too. It’s primed to overtake “The Dark Knight” ($1.008 billion) and 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises” ($1.08 billion) as the director’s highest-grossing film of all time...

...These ticket sales are all the more impressive considering that “The Odyssey” has yet to open in China, the world’s second-biggest moviegoing market. The country is rolling out the red-carpet treatment for the film, which is expected to land on nearly 800 Imax screens — and across thousands of standard auditoriums on Aug. 14.

By any measure, it has done extremely well, especially considering it is an "adult" movie, and not a superhero or cartoon character movie, since those movies now tend to dominate the box office.

 

[Voboy]

By any measure, it has done extremely well, especially considering it is an "adult" movie, and not a superhero or cartoon character movie, since those movies now tend to dominate the box office.

It's very odd to me that this particular film seems to have people grasping at straws to justify a preconceived idea that it's a failure. Folks are bending over backward to invent ways in which this movie hasn't done well, and that's far from the case by any measure.

It's not my favorite movie. It's not even my favorite Nolan movie. I liked it a lot, but I think it was overhyped (in both directions). Do I begrudge it its profitability? Of course not. It's a good artistic achievement and it was a sound investment for its backers.

I say the same thing about Avatar or any of the MCU movies, all of which I think are swill. They made money? Good for them, and good luck to those involved in their future endeavors.

No need to be a schadenfreudist asshole about it just because you wish the film failed.

 

[PennyThompson]

The discourse around how much money the Odyssey is pulling in is not being made in good faith.

Twitter racists want very badly for it to be an immense flop, because that reinforces their "go woke, go broke," narrative. The goalposts keep being moved, trying to find new and different ways to claim that it's not successful by one metric or another, or even that the studio is somehow lying about the numbers.

Keep in mind that Avatar remains the highest grossing movie in history so far, and it's the most un-subtle environmentalist Dances With Wolves anti-capitalist/anti-colonialist propaganda imaginable.

So, arguably, they should be rooting for the Odyssey to overtake it (it won't, simply because it's R-rated) and thereby lower the Relative Wokeness Quotient of the top-grossing list

 

[Writer61]

Twitter racists want very badly for it to be an immense flop, because that reinforces their "go woke, go broke," narrative.

And seemingly all because Nolan had the audacity to cast a black actor. It's bloody ridiculous.

 

[PennyThompson]

And seemingly all because Nolan had the audacity to cast a black actor. It's bloody ridiculous.

Well, they also have brain worms about Elliot Page, and they're really unhappy about the rather tame "Be nice to strangers or else," theme

 

[Writer61]

Well, they also have brain worms about Elliot Page, and they're really unhappy about the rather tame "Be nice to strangers or else," theme

Oh, yes, I had forgotten those. You'd have thought they would be happy that Sinon came to a sticky end.

Still bloody ridiculous.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

It's very odd to me that this particular film seems to have people grasping at straws to justify a preconceived idea that it's a failure. Folks are bending over backward to invent ways in which this movie hasn't done well, and that's far from the case by any measure.

It's not my favorite movie. It's not even my favorite Nolan movie. I liked it a lot, but I think it was overhyped (in both directions). Do I begrudge it its profitability? Of course not. It's a good artistic achievement and it was a sound investment for its backers.

I say the same thing about Avatar or any of the MCU movies, all of which I think are swill. They made money? Good for them, and good luck to those involved in their future endeavors.

No need to be a schadenfreudist asshole about it just because you wish the film failed.

I'd say the opposite is also true, people are desperate to make it some huge success as proof of their own beliefs and preconceptions.

But profitability is another question entirely, a modern movie can make a significant amount of money and not be profitable.
Budget, marketing costs, where the tickets are sold all play a role.
For this movie add in the fact that Nolan’s deal gets him 20% of studio revenue. Great for Nolan, but from a studio perspective that makes profitability even more difficult.

I'm sure some of the smooth brains will be along to scream racism because they don't understand the accounting and their world view is tied up in this nonsense...but hey...it's the internet...what do you expect.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

The discourse around how much money the Odyssey is pulling in is not being made in good faith.

Twitter racists want very badly for it to be an immense flop, because that reinforces their "go woke, go broke," narrative. The goalposts keep being moved, trying to find new and different ways to claim that it's not successful by one metric or another, or even that the studio is somehow lying about the numbers.

Keep in mind that Avatar remains the highest grossing movie in history so far, and it's the most un-subtle environmentalist Dances With Wolves anti-capitalist/anti-colonialist propaganda imaginable.

So, arguably, they should be rooting for the Odyssey to overtake it (it won't, simply because it's R-rated) and thereby lower the Relative Wokeness Quotient of the top-grossing list

The funny thing is that, if people want to insist that this film should have been some kind of touchstone for western civilization, it is entirely appropriate that it features actors with Kenyan, Pakistani, South African and Irish heritage, and indeed Travis Scott, an African-American.

They accuse it of being 'woke' for including a trans actor and celebrating xenia.

The irony is that it is in fact woke - no inverted commas - if you think of its casting as a nod to the west's history of colonialism: it is a film that is seemingly aware of the systemic racism of western civilization.

Just a thought.

However you come at the film though, it's really, really not worth getting one's knickers in a twist.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

However you come at the film though, it's really, really not worth getting one's knickers in a twist.

Yet here we are with people getting their knickers in a twist if there is even the slightest criticism of the film.
As if there isn't a whole industry dedicated to film criticism...

It was perfectly OK to criticise Nolan for casting Harry Styles in Dunkirk for example...

Or the historical inaccuracies like leaving the Indian contribution at Dunkirk out...

 

[TheLobster]

Twitter racists want very badly for it to be an immense flop, because that reinforces their "go woke, go broke," narrative.

I mean, the other way around is true, too. The movie barely released and there are already has been a rash of articles proclaiming that it proves how the narrative has been conclusively disproved. That one in (I believe) Vanity Fair was particularly egregious.

Personally I think it’s kinda silly to champion either of those strange causes, because it’s obvious that a movie made by one of the best, most critically acclaimed and loved by the audience directors of all time will be an exception to every rule.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Foreign films only get 25% of the ticket revenue from movies released in China. Compared to 40-55% in other markets.

If we are discussing profitability, things like that matter.

For comparison, Super Mario Galaxy released this year made over a billion dollars on a budget less than half of The Odyssey ($110 million vs. $250 million.)

If the studio has made c.50% of $700m, then it's already covered the entirety of the reported production budget of $250m - and $100m of the reported $150m marketing spend.

And it hasn't even been in cinemas for 2 weeks yet. It's going to break even from theatrical receipts alone - which is remarkable these days.

And theatrical revenue typically only accounts for about 25-30% of a film's revenue.

When it comes to PVOD - people purchasing it or renting it at home - which is the next phase, the studio will take about 80% of all revenue. The better a film does in the cinema, the better it performs online. And then you've got whatever streaming deals the studio has made.

There's no two ways about it, the film is going to be extremely profitable.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I've got tickets to see it later today. I'm intrigued!

Also curious to find out if I can stay awake for a whole 3 hour movie.

Or not, my friend has no-showed and I dont care enough to go by myself.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

If the studio has made c.50% of $700m, then it's already covered the entirety of the reported production budget of $250m - and $100m of the reported $150m marketing spend.

And it hasn't even been in cinemas for 2 weeks yet. It's going to break even from theatrical receipts alone - which is remarkable these days.

And theatrical revenue typically only accounts for about 25-30% of a film's revenue.

When it comes to PVOD - people purchasing it or renting it at home - which is the next phase, the studio will take about 80% of all revenue. The better a film does in the cinema, the better it performs online. And then you've got whatever streaming deals the studio has made.

There's no two ways about it, the film is going to be extremely profitable.

They don't make 50% it varies greatly, and I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that only 25-30 percent is from ticket sales.
There are other revenue streams but those are often years down the road.
Hollywood accounting is notoriously convoluted.
Also, there will probably be a big drop this weekend since Spiderman drops this weekend. Odyssey didn’t face any real competition last weekend.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

How about we try to exorcize the immense political bias of at least 80% of participants in this discussion? It would be fun to discuss the movie on its merits.

I'll contact Father Mayii, and the rest of you please gather some crosses and ropes.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Joyce Carol Oates joins the conversation...this is, I think, the backlash to the backlash but it's getting difficult to follow:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...s-emily-wilson-for-criticising-nolans-odyssey

And so does Robin Lane Fox, a classicist who has a column in the FT about gardening and who has written - delightfully, I think - on the gardens in The Odyssey:

https://www.ft.com/content/657cf14f-809f-4d20-a524-63a586d4d62f?syn-25a6b1a6=1

(That might be behind a paywall. If so and you're keen to read, send me a pm and I'll forward the text itself).

 

[Kelliezgirl]

How about we try to exorcize the immense political bias of at least 80% of participants in this discussion? It would be fun to discuss the movie on its merits.

I'll contact Father Mayii, and the rest of you please gather some crosses and ropes.

View attachment 2660910

It would be, unfortunately the NPCs on bluesky have their marching orders. This film must be defended at all costs, regardless of how much they have to move the goal posts. First it wasn't woke at all, now it's going to make all the money in the world, thus "disproving" go woke go broke.
I'm sure it will be something else as soon as the algorithm updates them.

 

[Writer61]

It's just a film. Everybody who is attacking it or defending it as anything other than that is making a tit of themself.

 

[SimonDoom]

It would be, unfortunately the NPCs on bluesky have their marching orders. This film must be defended at all costs, regardless of how much they have to move the goal posts. First it wasn't woke at all, now it's going to make all the money in the world, thus "disproving" go woke go broke.
I'm sure it will be something else as soon as the algorithm updates them.

I don't see anybody in this thread "defending the movie at all costs" or moving the goal posts. That seems like projection to me. Most of the discussion has been even-handed and non-political.

One of the key ways to avoid unpleasant political conversations is not to see politics in every conversation, even where it doesn't really exist.

 

[Writer61]

Most of the discussion has been even-handed and non-political.

I agree, but a few seem determined to make it into something else.

 

[Voboy]

It would be, unfortunately the NPCs on bluesky have their marching orders. This film must be defended at all costs, regardless of how much they have to move the goal posts.

...you don't have to engage, y'know...

Watch the movie and make your own decisions, maybe? Have you seen it yet? It's pretty entertaining.

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree, but a few seem determined to make it into something else.

It's frustrating to have a conversation about something where for some it seems like the narrative is pre-determined. Just let go of the narrative, watch the film, react. Any reactions are legitimate if one has actually seen the film.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I don't see anybody in this thread "defending the movie at all costs" or moving the goal posts. That seems like projection to me. Most of the discussion has been even-handed and non-political.

One of the key ways to avoid unpleasant political conversations is not to see politics in every conversation, even where it doesn't really exist.

Projection?
The only criticism I've made is I didn't think Elliot Page was a good casting choice.
That's not political in the slightest. The world is full of people discussing good and bad casting choices long before a movie comes out.
People chose to make that political because they can't handle anyone on their team facing even the hint of criticism.
Of course, we both know why you won't call that behavior out inspite of "not wanting it to be political".

 

[Kelliezgirl]

...you don't have to engage, y'know...

Watch the movie and make your own decisions, maybe? Have you seen it yet? It's pretty entertaining.

Engaging? I was agreeing.
I'm sure it is. Nolan’s films usually are.

 

[Voboy]

Engaging? I was agreeing.

I meant "on Bluesky."