The Odyssey Is Here: Nolan's IMAX Epic Just Posted the Biggest Numbers of the Year

It finally opened. After two years of teaser posters, a leaked camera nobody was allowed to photograph, and a marketing campaign built almost entirely on the phrase "shot on IMAX film," The Odyssey landed in theaters on Friday, July 17. And it did not land quietly. Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer is now both the best-reviewed film of his career and the biggest domestic opening of 2026 so far. If you spent the spring wondering whether a three-hour Greek myth could really be the movie of the summer, the first weekend answered you.

We previewed this one back in June in what to expect from The Odyssey. Now that it is actually playing, here is what the numbers, the reviews, and the ticket-buying chaos add up to.

The numbers: the best previews of the year

The Odyssey earned $17.6 million from Thursday preview screenings, the largest preview haul of any movie in 2026. That is the kind of number that tells you the audience showed up before the reviews could even settle. Tracking now points to a domestic opening weekend somewhere between $100 million and $117 million, with more than $110 million more from 73 overseas territories for a global start comfortably north of $200 million.

For context, this is shaping up to be the biggest opening for Matt Damon as a lead actor, and Nolan's largest debut since The Dark Knight Rises. It also stakes an early claim as the best opening for a live-action feature so far this year, in a summer that has already thrown Toy Story 5, the Minions, and a live-action Moana into the mix. We broke down that crowded July slate in the summer 2026 theater roundup, and The Odyssey just walked in and took the top line.

The reviews: a career high for Nolan

Here is the part that should surprise even Nolan skeptics. The Odyssey opened at 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest critical score of his entire filmography. This is the director of The Dark Knight, Inception, and Oppenheimer, and critics are calling this his most fully realized epic. The recurring note in the reviews is that the spectacle is enormous, the two million feet of IMAX film earn every inch of the screen, and yet the movie keeps its focus on a very human story about a man trying to get home.

Damon plays Odysseus. Anne Hathaway is Penelope, the wife holding Ithaca together across the decades he is gone. Tom Holland plays Telemachus, the son who grows up in his absence. Around them is one of the deepest benches Nolan has ever assembled, including Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, and Mia Goth. Ludwig Goransson, fresh off his Oppenheimer Oscar, composes. Hoyte van Hoytema shot it. At 2 hours and 53 minutes, it is long, and by every early account it does not feel it.

One of the greatest epic fantasies ever put on screen, strengthened rather than swamped by its intimate performances.The consensus from early reviews

The catch: the 70mm ticket you probably cannot get

Now the frustrating part. The Odyssey is the first film ever shot entirely on IMAX's 70mm film cameras, using a new, quieter camera that IMAX built specifically for this production. The format is the whole point of the movie. But the version that shows the full frame, true IMAX 70mm film projection, is running in fewer than 40 theaters worldwide.

That scarcity has done exactly what scarcity does. Some of those limited 70mm screenings sold out weeks ago, and resellers have been flipping tickets at ugly markups, especially in New York. If you are set on the purest presentation, you may be traveling for it, and you should have booked already. The good news is that the vast majority of moviegoers do not need to.

How to actually choose your screen

• IMAX 70mm film (under 40 locations): the format Nolan designed the movie around. The full, tallest image. If you can get in without selling a kidney, this is the ceiling.
• Digital IMAX or a large premium large-format screen: what most people will see, and it is excellent. A big, bright, loud presentation that captures the scale even without the film print.
• 70mm (non-IMAX) or Dolby: great sound and a huge picture. A very strong second choice if IMAX is sold out near you.
• A standard screen: still a good time. It is a Nolan movie. The story does not shrink.

So where does it rank?

That is the fun question this weekend, and it is the one Nolan fans have been arguing about since the lights came up. This is his most expensive film at a reported $250 million, his first since Oppenheimer swept the 2024 Oscars, and now his best-reviewed. Does that make it his best, full stop? Or is a flawless myth still a notch below the emotional gut-punch of Interstellar or the clockwork of Inception?

There is no neutral answer, which is exactly why it is worth ranking for yourself. On Shortlist, Nolan is one of the most-ranked directors we have, and Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight have traded the top spot in the community list all year. Now there is a new contender. Head over to the Christopher Nolan movies ranked list, drop The Odyssey into the mix, and see where it lands once you compare it head to head against the rest. If you are new to ranking, the movie tier list guide walks you through it.

One weekend in, the verdict is clear on the two things a movie like this needs: people are showing up, and critics are floored. The only question left is the one you get to answer yourself, one matchup at a time.

Frequently asked