Christopher Nolan is the gift that keeps giving for Universal. After the then powers-that-be at Warner Bros. released “Tenet” in theaters and on HBO Max during the pandemic, Nolan jumped ship to the Donna Langley-led studio up the street. His first film for Uni, “Oppenheimer,” earned over $976 million worldwide and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Now, three years later, Nolan has delivered another box office powerhouse with his adaptation of Homer’s poem, “The Odyssey.” The epic took in $124.5 million in the U.S. and $264.1 million at the worldwide box office. The largest live-action opening of 2026 so far.
READ MORE: “The Odyssey” Lives Up To The Hype And Is Set To Dominate Oscar Season
The $120 million estimate may come in higher or, potentially lower. It’s unclear how much viewing of the World Cup finale today will impact ticket sales in the U.S. and around the globe. That being said, the U.S. figures represent the largest opening for Matt Damon, and the third ever for Nolan following “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”. The film opened to $40 million more domestic than “Oppenheimer” and, with rave reviews (89 on Metacritic, 95% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an A grade CinemaScore, it may end up being the fourth $1 billion grosser this calendar year after “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Michael,” and, assumptions included, “Toy Story 5.” This is the second largest opening for Hathaway after “Rises,” and the fourth biggest for Robert Pattinsion after “The Batman” and the last two “Twlight” films. “The Odyssey” has little competition until July 31 when “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” starring “The Odyssey’s” Tom Holland and Zendaya, arrives to shatter opening records.
Dropping 56% in its second weekend was Walt Disney Studios’ “Moana.” The live-action adaptation earned another $19 million for $82 million domestic and $178.4 million worldwide. Disney was likely hoping the A- CinemaScore graded family film could weather the “Odyssey” storm. It barely did, as there is simply too much family-friendly fare in the marketplace. The other two major tentpoles targeting that demo did marketly better.
Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” earned another $14 million down just 34% in its third weekend for $137 million in the U.S. Overseas, it has been significantly better, with a global tally of $357.8 million to date. The aforementioned Pixar smash, “Toy Story 5,” was right behind with another $14.3 million, down just 22% from last weekend. The Pete Doctor-directed crowd pleaser has earned $958 million so far. It should cross the $1 billion mark within the next week.
A24 expanded “The Invite” to 2,110 theaters, where it did a very good $3.9 million for $15 million. That was down 31% from the previous weekend, indicating it held on versus “The Odyssey” in the prestige, adult marketplace. The mini-major is still playing the long game after acquiring the dramedy for $12 million out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. It’s going to have to hope for similar drops over the next two weeks and weekends to break even theatrically.
Other updated tallies include “Young Washington” effectively breaking even with a $41 million U.S. cume. “Supergirl” hit just $69 million domestic and $121 million global, making it one of the biggest bombs of the year. Another Warner Bros. release, “Evil Dead Burn,” has also disappointed with just $24.1 million in the U.S., $51.4 million global. At the same time, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure” has weathered the storm and industry expectations to take in $114 million domestic and $234.3 million worldwide.
There are no new wide releases on Friday, although Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell” drops in limited release.
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Editor-at-Large Gregory Ellwood is one of the entertainment industry's most respected journalists and critics. Based in Los Angeles, he's the only current awards expert who previously worked on Oscar campaigns at a major movie studio. Over the years, he has written for the LA Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Vox, among others. He also co-founded the entertainment news site HitFix, which spawned a legion of influential Emmy and WGA Award-winning alumni.
