Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | July 20, 2026
Christopher Nolan is an increasing rarity, not just in film but in pop culture full stop: a creator who can command a blank cheque and total creative control to make whatever the hell they want, and have it be a massive commercial success. He turned a film where men in bland rooms talk about science and ethics for three hours into a $900 million record breaker. Now, with The Odyssey, he’s still setting the new standard.
Ignore the doubters. Odysseus’s journey home brought in $124.5 million over the weekend: A per-theatre average of about $31,768. Worldwide, it’s now at $264 million, meaning it’s earned back its budget plus change. That’s a new global record for Nolan. It’s already outgrossed Disclosure Day. Again, this is an R-rated movie based on a Greek epic and it’s close to three hours long. Only Nolan could have made this into a box office guarantee. Suck it, Elon.
Understandably, none of the other studios wanted to go up against this particular horse, and earlier releases took a hit in attendance. Moana saw a 56% slump from its already-soft opening. Evil Dead Burn had a 63.5% drop. Obsession is still holding on strong, now at $258.4 million domestically. Anne Hathaway’s having a great year. The Odyssey is her second box office hit of 2026 so far, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 crossing the $220 million mark domestically.
Only a couple of indie releases this weekend: The Kidnapping of Arabella, an Italian drama about a case of mistaken identity, earned $10,869 from one location; American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, a documentary about the writer and director who gave us La Bamba, grossed $7,500.
This coming week sees the re-release of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion and the new release of Nicholas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell.
You can check out the rest of the weekend box office numbers here.
