‘The Odyssey’ Concludes Its Overseas Box Office Run With Impressive $112 Million

Avatar photoValentina Kraljik
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The international box office has always posed challenges for even Hollywood’s most renowned directors, with China often humbling filmmakers who excel elsewhere. This unpredictability made one director’s latest release in the region particularly noteworthy this year.

Christopher Nolan has long sought consistent success in China, experiencing mixed results with his previous films. His latest epic, which debuted globally in July, arrived in the country with high expectations, supported by a significant theatrical rollout and months of anticipation.

‘The Odyssey’ has officially wrapped its box office run in China, achieving a final total of $112 million, surpassing the initial projection of $104 million. The Matt Damon-led adaptation of Homer’s ancient poem premiered in China on August 14, nearly a month after its worldwide release, and was shown on over twenty thousand screens, including nearly eight hundred IMAX locations, covering about ninety percent of the country’s IMAX footprint.

The film’s opening weekend in China was a strong indicator of its potential success. ‘The Odyssey’ earned $36.3 million during its three-day debut, outpacing ‘Tenet’s’ previous record of $29.8 million to become Nolan’s largest three-day opening in the country, ranking as the second-biggest Hollywood opening weekend in China for all of 2026.

This momentum propelled the film to the $100 million milestone in just twenty-seven days, a significant achievement in Nolan’s box office history in the region. ‘The Odyssey’ surpassed the China totals of ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Tenet,’ and ‘Inception,’ falling just short of ‘Interstellar’s’ $122 million lifetime gross in China among all of Nolan’s films.

Reaching this milestone also made ‘The Odyssey’ the first Hollywood film that is neither a sequel nor part of an established franchise to cross $100 million in China since the pandemic altered the country’s theatrical landscape. It became the twelfth Hollywood film of any kind to achieve this number in the post-COVID era, a remarkable feat for a three-hour, adult-oriented drama based on a three-thousand-year-old poem rather than existing intellectual property.

Nolan filmed the entire production on 70mm IMAX across multiple countries, a technical choice that resonated with Chinese audiences, as IMAX screens significantly contributed to the film’s performance there. The final tally of $112 million exceeded even the studio’s early expectations for the market.

Screenshot 2026 07 25 at 11 02 38 The Odyssey 2026 Rotten Tomatoes

China’s contribution adds another chapter to what has become one of Nolan’s most successful releases globally. ‘The Odyssey’ crossed the billion-dollar mark worldwide within just three weeks of its release, making it Nolan’s highest-grossing film, surpassing both ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and ‘The Dark Knight.’

As the film’s worldwide total continues to rise across other major markets, China’s concluded run stands out as one of the year’s surprising success stories. For a filmmaker whose ambitious, dialogue-driven blockbusters often struggle to resonate overseas, witnessing ‘The Odyssey’ finish its China run above expectations marks a significant turning point.

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