Jimmy Fallon has emerged as one of the most surprising winners of the world’s love affair with “The Odyssey.” Last week, the NBC late night show generated more than 650 million social views thanks to buzzy content related to the Christopher Nolan film and the World Cup.
July 13 to 17 is now the most social week of the year for “The Tonight Show.” In addition to the aforementioned social views, the series’ content drove more than more than 54 million engagements. Compared to this week last year, social media views were up 39% and engagements were up 48%. An Instagram video of Fallon explaining (via song) the difference between “The Odyssey” star Tom Holland and Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland scored 5.6 million likes alone, and one of Fallon going down a conspiratorial rabbit hole around the viral 2007 photo Lionel Messi holding a baby Lamine Yamal secured 5.3 million likes. The series remains the No. 1 late night show when it comes to social followers, engagements and video views.
That social buzz also translated to linear viewership. During the week in question, “The Tonight Show” ranked as the No. 1 late night program among adults 18 to 49 and was the No. 1 late night show every night from Monday through Thursday for that same segment of viewers. Compared to the same week last year, the series saw a 28% increase in total viewers and a 9% increase in the demo.
This aligns with the show’s performance throughout the second quarter of 2026. Compared to 2025, original episodes of “The Tonight Show” have seen a 5% increase in viewership and a 25% increase in viewership among those 18 to 49 years old. That increase is expected to continue through the third quarter, which is already pacing up by 28% when it comes to total viewers and 9% when it comes to the demo.
As for “The Odyssey,” Nolan’s latest movie isn’t too shabby itself. Last weekend, it opened as the No. 1 movie worldwide, generating $263.8 million at the box office. The film has the third biggest opening weekend of the year behind “The Super Mario Galaxy” and “Toy Story 5” and stands as Nolan’s biggest global opening of all time.
Domestically, the movie has grossed $123.5 million, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend for a live-action film and an R-rated film in 2026. It also set the record for Universal’s highest-grossing opening weekend for an R-rated movie. On the international front, “The Odyssey” has rolled out in 73 markets and earned more than $140.3 million internationally. In addition to being Universal’s biggest opening in 11 markets, “The Odyssey” is also second-biggest R-rated opening of all time internationally behind “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” is executive produced by Lorne Michaels and produced by Chris Miller and Gerard Bradford. Miller serves as the showrunner. The series comes from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group and Broadway Video. New episodes of “The Tonight Show” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock.
