The Odyssey has made history at the box office, despite MAGA making all sorts of attempts to cancel the film.
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the Greek epic beat two records this past weekend. The film has officially become the director’s biggest movie ever, bringing in $1.1 billion, reports Variety. The Odyssey has now surpassed Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, which brought in $1.08 billion (not adjusted for inflation) when it was released in 2012.
The blockbuster has also become IMAX’s highest-grossing release of all time, drawing in $289 million. The previous record was held by 2009’s Avatar, which made $271 million (also not adjusted for inflation).
The Odyssey is the second biggest movie of the year, trailing behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has made $1.67 billion so far. To top it off, the star-studded movie is now the second-highest-grossing R-rated release of all time, following 2024’s Deadpool and Wolverine.
The film had already stormed the global box office in its opening weekend.
As Variety points out, Nolan’s film is far from finishing its theatrical run. It was released on July 17 in the U.K. and U.S., and is yet to hit China—the second-biggest moviegoing market—where it will open in cinemas mid-August. The movie has already made $6.3 million from preview screenings across that country.
Universal’s president of international distribution, Veronika Kwan Vanderberg, said The Odyssey “has resonated with audiences everywhere with its massive scope and uncompromising vision.”
The global response to Nolan’s film mitigates MAGA’s efforts to pan it. Starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Elliot Page, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong’o, the film was criticized by right-wing critics for its diverse casting choices. Namely, these criticisms attacked the inclusion of Page, a trans actor, as Sinon and Nyong’o, a Black actress, as Helen of Troy.
The hysteria surrounding the film was largely spearheaded by right-wing trillionaire Elon Musk, who has vowed to create his own AI-created rendition of Homer’s epic.
Their outrage has largely fallen flat, remaining in right-wing circles on the internet and having little impact at the box office.
Critics, too, have lauded the film. The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager called it a “rousingly gargantuan action extravaganza,” and one that is “awash in breathtakingly novel visions.”
