‘The Odyssey’ Sets Record for Biggest Tuesday Ever for Hollywood Overseas

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ has been in theaters for nearly a week, demonstrating its remarkable staying power by breaking records almost daily since its release. What started as a historic opening weekend has transformed into one of the year’s most impressive box office success stories.

This momentum has been particularly evident overseas, where the film continues to surpass local benchmarks well after its debut. Italy has emerged as a standout market during this rollout, recently achieving another astonishing milestone.

According to box office tracking reports, ‘The Odyssey’ has become a cultural phenomenon in Italy, grossing $2.5 million on what is now the biggest first Tuesday of all time for a Hollywood release in that market. This figure surpasses previous records set by films like ‘Inside Out 2’ with $2.4 million, ‘Oppenheimer’ at $1.6 million, and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ with $1.5 million.

This Tuesday total reflects a genuine increase rather than the typical weekday decline most films encounter, rising approximately 19 percent from an already record-setting Monday performance. The film’s cumulative total in Italy now stands at $16.1 million with 1.7 million admissions after just six days in theaters.

The strength seen in Italy aligns with a broader trend of record-breaking weekday performances across various markets. In the United States, ‘The Odyssey’ achieved its best domestic Tuesday, grossing $21.4 million, surpassing Nolan’s previous record set by ‘The Dark Knight,’ which earned $20.8 million on a Tuesday back in July 2008.

That domestic Tuesday figure ranks as the second best of the year so far, only behind ‘Toy Story 5’s’ $23.69 million, and stands as Universal’s second best Tuesday ever, following ‘Jurassic World’s’ $24.3 million debut in 2015. Given how infrequently films outperform their opening weekend pace during weekdays, this sustained strength has become a defining aspect of the film’s release.

Italy’s exceptional performance builds on an already historic opening for the film in the country. Its initial debut there marked the biggest opening for a Nolan film in Italy, as well as Universal’s largest opening ever in that market, and the biggest July opening the country has seen, challenging long-held industry beliefs about summer blockbuster performance in that region.

These impressive numbers have led some analysts to predict that ‘The Odyssey’s’ second domestic weekend could potentially exceed the second weekend earnings of Nolan’s own ‘Dark Knight’ films, a projection that would have seemed improbable for a nearly three-hour, R-rated adaptation of a 3,000-year-old poem just weeks ago.

With the entire month of August still ahead on the release calendar and the film continuing to break records in various markets, ‘The Odyssey’ shows no signs of slowing down in its historic run. Whether it can maintain this momentum through its second weekend and beyond remains one of the most closely monitored storylines in this year’s box office race.

What are your thoughts on ‘The Odyssey’ continuing to break records beyond its opening weekend? Share your opinions in the comments.