Universal/Syncopy’s “The Odyssey” has begun its box office voyage, earning $17.6 million from Thursday preview screenings, passing the $12.6 million preview total of “Michael” for the highest preview this year.
That result is also above the $10.5 million for director Christopher Nolan’s last film, “Oppenheimer,” which went on to an $82.7 million domestic opening weekend amidst the pop culture phenomenon it launched with “Barbie.” “The Odyssey” should significantly exceed that, as it is on course to become the fifth R-rated film in history with a $100 million-plus domestic launch.
Like “Oppenheimer,” “The Odyssey” is enjoying overwhelming acclaim from both critics and Nolan’s fans, who made up the majority of Thursday’s audience. At time of writing, both the critics and audience scores for the Greek epic stand at an excellent 96%, the highest ever recorded for a Nolan film.
With hundreds if not thousands of Imax screenings sold out for the film, especially in Imax 70mm formats, “The Odyssey” is set to become the biggest opening weekend in the history of the premium format company. On Thursday alone, approximately 30% of the film’s grosses came from Imax screens. With standard 70mm and other premium formats like ScreenX and Dolby included, nearly 60% of the movie’s grosses have come from PLFs.
Combine that with the overwhelming word-of-mouth, and early signs point to the film having a shot at reaching $1 billion if it can withstand significant competition from Sony/Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” starting in its third weekend.
