Weekend Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Opens Huge

(L to R) Matt Damon is Odysseus and Zendaya is Athena in ‘The Odyssey’, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. Photo: Universal Pictures.

Preview:

‘The Odyssey’ has dominated the box office on its launch weekend.
The new ‘Moana’ was pushed to second.
‘Minions & Monsters’ stayed third.

Like an army storming from a fake horse to overwhelm a city, so filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s latest big swing, ‘The Odyssey’, has launched to a gigantic $124.5 million at the domestic box office.

The new movie, boasting a starry cast led by Matt Damon, is based on Homer’s epic poem, and represents the latest box office behemoth for the director, opening to the best start for a live-action feature so far in 2026.

Release Date: Jul 17, 2026

Run Time: 2 hr 53 min

Budget: $250,000,000

Globally, the movie –– which cost a reported $250 million to produce before marketing costs –– has already made $264.1 million, and if it holds like Nolan’s previous, Oscar-winning effort ‘Oppenheimer’ could be on track for close to (or possibly beyond) a billion dollars.

Related Article: Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’ Tops the Chart, But Doesn’t Make a Splash

Top Five Movies at the Box Office

( L to R) Jimmy Gonzales is Cepheus, Matt Damon is Odysseus and Himesh Patel is Eurylochus in ‘The Odyssey’, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. Photo: Universal Pictures.

1. ‘The Odyssey’ -$124.5 million
2. ‘Moana’ -$19 million
3. ‘Toy Story 5’ -$14.8 million
4. ‘Minions & Monsters’ -$14.8 million
5. ‘Evil Dead Burn’ -$5 million

What else happened at the box office this weekend?

Last week’s top placement, the live-action ‘Moana’ saw a $70% drop in second place, adding $19 million for an $82 million running total so far, hardly the sort of soaring success Disney was hoping for.

Animated stalwarts ‘Minions & Monsters’ and ‘Toy Story 5’ essentially tied for third place, taking $14.8 million each.

Finally, ‘Evil Dead Burn’ dropped to fifth place, earning $5 million for a $24.1 million total to date –– not great considering the performance of previous franchise outing ‘Evil Dead Rise’ ($147.1 million in 2023).

(L to R) Director Christopher Nolan with Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC on set of his film ‘The Odyssey’, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. Photo: Universal Pictures.