Christopher Nolan put himself on the map with the record-breaking success of The Dark Knight, but it was Inception that truly elevated him to a whole new level. That film established that Nolan himself was a big enough draw for general audiences, proving he didn’t need the presence of Batman to sell tickets. Since then, Nolan is perhaps this generation’s premier blockbuster auteur, turning everything from sci-fi epics to a three-hour biopic about the man who created the atomic bomb into a roaring success. Even Tenet brought in $376.5 million worldwide at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, further illustrating Nolan’s box office prowess. This summer, Nolan returns to theaters with The Odyssey, and it’s shaping up to be his biggest hit since he walked the streets of Gotham City.
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According to Deadline, The Odyssey is currently projected to earn somewhere between $85-100 million domestically in its opening weekend, plus another $110 million internationally for a worldwide debut that could surpass $200 million. This would make it Nolan’s biggest box office opening since The Dark Knight Rises premiered in 2012. Oppenheimer grossed $82.4 million in its opening weekend three years ago. Here’s how The Oddysey‘s estimates compare to Nolan’s top five highest-grossing debuts:
| Movie | Opening Weekend (Domestic) |
| The Dark Knight Rises | $160.8 million |
| The Dark Knight | $158.4 million |
| The Odyssey | $85-100 million (estimate) |
| Oppenheimer | $82.4 million |
| Inception | $62.7 million |
| Dunkirk | $50.5 million |
Why The Odyssey Has Nolan’s Best Box Office Tracking Since Batman
While Batman Begins was only a modest hit ($375.5 million worldwide), it isn’t surprising that Nolan’s latter two Batman films posted his biggest openings by far. Batman is one of the most popular characters in the history of fiction, The Dark Knight became a cultural phenomenon, and superhero movies had found their footing and became the dominant genre at the box office. It was a perfect storm. What some may find surprising is that The Odyssey has a strong change to score Nolan’s first $100+ million opening since his Batman trilogy ended. As illustrated, he has many hits to his name, including sci-fi and war films (two well-worn genres). So why is tracking for The Odyssey so much higher than those other non-Batman films?
Universal has done a great job of selling The Odyssey as one of the year’s premier cinematic events. Anticipation for the film has been high ever since the project was announced. The fact that IMAX tickets went on sale a full year in advance (quickly selling out) further added to the hype, creating an intense sense of demand to secure tickets as quickly as possible. Trailers for The Odyssey have also walked a tricky tightrope of selling audiences on the epic’s grand scale and scope while simultaneously keeping many mythological elements under wraps (preserving surprises for the film’s premiere). The Odyssey has been subject to some internet backlash, but the box office projections indicate that hasn’t had much (if any) impact on general viewers.
In addition to the excitement over seeing Nolan try his hand at a fantasy epic (the first film shot entirely in IMAX, no less), The Odyssey is also facing minimal competition this weekend. There is no Barbenheimer style event this time, where another anticipated studio tentpole is opening on the same day. The Odyssey largely has theaters to itself; many of this year’s big-budget releases have significantly underwhelmed at the box office, with Supergirl and Moana being two recent examples. The Odyssey is going to stand out as the main attraction, especially since early reactions have been extremely positive. It boasts the “must-see” quality a lot of summer tentpoles were missing this year.
It’ll be interesting to see if The Odyssey can outperform its expectations, taking advantage of a weak theatrical landscape. On the surface, the fact that it’s a three-hour, R-rated film would potentially hurt box office estimates; the rating limits the audience and the run time limits the number of screenings theaters can book daily. But Nolan is in a league of his own when it comes to the box office. The Odyssey has been poised to be one of the year’s biggest hits for months, and now it’s set to deliver on that promise.
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