Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Has Epic Opening Day With $51 Million

Variety ^ | 18th July 2026 | Jack Dunn

[Cronos]

“The Odyssey” didn’t need a Trojan Horse to break into the top of Friday’s box office charts.

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” earned $51 million on Friday from 3,919 North American screens. Early estimates had the saga grossing $90 million to $100 million by Sunday, but after a stellar opening day, forecasts have the film climbing as high as $120 million. “The Odyssey” will soon become the third film in 2026 to open above $100 million after “Toy Story 5” ($159 million) and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131 million). “The Odyssey” carries a hefty $250 million price tag.

An $120 million opening for “The Odyssey” would rank as Nolan’s best since “The Dark Knight Rises,” which debuted to a staggering $160 million in 2012. Weekend one projections for “The Odyssey” blow past Nolan’s 2023 best picture winner, “Oppenheimer,” which made $82 million over its opening weekend and powered to $975 million by the end of its run. Also, with $51 million on Friday, “The Odyssey” has already outgrossed the entire opening weekend of Nolan’s 2014 opus “Interstellar” ($47.5 million).

[Cronos]

The difference is that the characters in 13 years a slave are historical people who lived barely 200 years ago.

The character win the Odyssey are mythologized: Helen is the daughter of Zeus/Jove

[MayflowerMadam]

“I despise Shakespeare or any classic done in modern dress (or modern language!).”

Really. The worst offender is the bazillion different iterations of “Pride And Prejudice” set in current days. Enough already.

[MayflowerMadam]

Thanks for posting that!

[MayflowerMadam]

A black Helen Of Troy?

I don’t think so.

I know it’s not actual history, and just mythology, but the woke is too much.

[for-q-clinton]

Lmao. Nice spin.

[Cronos]

You have read the Odyssey, right?

[mewzilla]

Box office padding is a thing.

Hollyweird has been caught at it in the past.

Looks like we’re now set to find out how this DoJ feels about it.

I have two words for Hollyweird: Pyrhhic victory.

[Cronos]

the latest box office numbers for Nolan’s ‘the Odyssey’ - https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt33764258/

Domestic (46.8%)
$123,502,900
International (53.2%)
$140,297,000
Worldwide
$263,799,900

Budget was $250,000,000

So it needs to earn at least $500 million to break even in its theatrical run

[discostu]

Also the difference between something based on a memoir, actual people actual events; and something probably almost entirely fictional. And as somebody else pointed out, Greece ain’t that far from Africa, who knows where that blood comes from. The myth says Zeus in the form of a swan impregnated Leda, so not Leda’s husband. I’ve often wondered about Zeus’ “side quests”, they seem like an ok way to excuse affairs “no honey I didn’t cheat on you, it was Zeus, in the form of a swan, I swear.”

[for-q-clinton]

This son, Megapenthes, was born to him of a bondwoman, for heaven vouchsafed Helen no more children after she had borne Hermione, who was fair as golden Venus herself.

Yes. So please explain this to me in context of Helen being a dark african woman.

[for-q-clinton]

Another one:

So he spoke, and presently came golden-throned Dawn. Up to them then came Menelaus, good at the war-cry, rising from his couch from beside fair-tressed Helen.

[Cronos]

for-q-clinton This son, Megapenthes, was born to him of a bondwoman, for heaven vouchsafed Helen no more children after she had borne Hermione, who was fair as golden Venus herself.

Another one:

So he spoke, and presently came golden-throned Dawn. Up to them then came Menelaus, good at the war-cry, rising from his couch from beside fair-tressed Helen.

Very good -- did you read the Odyssey? it's available for free online on project gutenberg - or an audiobook version for free on librivox. And it is surprisingly easy to read. I would strongly recommend it

Now to your points:

1. Megapenthes was the son of Menelaus but NOT the son of Helen
2. Hermione is "fair as golden Venus"

Hillside has a free course on the Odyssey that I would urge you to attend - I am too and I find it adding to what I knew.

Now the word "fair" is a very interesting word that has changed meaning over time (like the word "monstrous" or even "gay" (the latter always pains me when I read a PG Wodehouse book from the 1930s - 1950s and gay meant specifically happy, free from worry)

anyhoo - in older English, the word "fair" was the standard word for "attractive" or "lovely" (as in the phrase "the fairest of them all"). Samuel Butler, who translated this specific version of The Odyssey in 1900, used "fair" in its traditional sense of "beautiful."

Now this I'm cribbing from the Hillside course -- in Homer’s original Greek text, Book 4, Line 14), the phrase used to describe Hermione is ".ἣ εἶδος ἔχε χρυσέης Ἀφροδίτης." -- which translates LITERALLY as "who had the form of golden Aphrodite" -- the word "skin" or "complexion" does not appear in the Greek line at all

Aphrodite's primary attribute in Greek literature is her irresistible beauty and charm, not a specific modern racial or skin tone classification. In ancient Greek poetry, the goddess is frequently called "golden" (chryseē). This is a divine epithet used to represent her radiance, majesty, immortality, and preciousness—much like how the sun, crowns, and divine objects are called "golden." It is not a literal description of human skin pigmentation.

similarly samuel butler in "fair tressed" meant "beautiful haired"

i fully agree with you that changing the race of known historical figures like Cleopatra (an inbred Macedonian) or medieval European royalty is incorrect and yes, I also agree with you that putting an African woman as Helen seems out of place - but for the latter, it is not completely out of line with the Homeric epic -- come on, this talks of his voyages to lotus-eating people,to women with feet of birds, to Hades etc. - this is not something to get riled about

I got more riled with Gladiator 1 and 2, with Braveheart and with 300 for being utterly historically inaccurate.

[mewzilla]

I’m looking forward to Elon Musk’s version, a link to the conversation on X...

https://x.com/martianwyrdlord/status/2079810386102985113

[MayflowerMadam]

On Newsmax last night, one of the Robs — Finnerty, I think — gave his scathing opinion of the movie. Not due to the production itself, but to the blatant woke casting travesty.

A mentally disturbed young woman cast as a male character that doesn’t even exist in the actual “The Odyssey”. Maybe the blackest nappy-headed women on God’s green earth cast as Helen, “white-armed”, “lovely-haired”.

Even one of the panelists, a leader in “Gays Against Groomers”, was disgusted.

[for-q-clinton]

It’s a HUGE HUGE HUGE stretch to chain fair from good-looking light skin/blond to mean dark black and plain looking.

I gave you proof and you gave back spin.

[Cronos]

As I wrote above, the original Greek phrase used to describe Hermione is “.ἣ εἶδος ἔχε χρυσέης Ἀφροδίτης.” — which translates LITERALLY as “who had the form of golden Aphrodite” — the word “skin” or “complexion” does not appear in the Greek line at all

[for-q-clinton]

Keep reaching...you’ll eventually give yourself a reach-around.

[Polanski]

Just got done with it. The things I thought I wouldn’t like didn’t bother me (the cast), the things I thought I would like I liked mostly more than I expected (especially Damon). It’s not a ‘masterpiece’ but a solid 8.5/10 for me.

But I can understand for sure why some won’t like it, it’s fairly exhausting in a lot of ways.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Thanks for the review.