Christopher Nolan’s epic starring Matt Damon delivers a strong opening day as it heads for one of the biggest opening weekends of the year.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has made a powerful start at the global box office, earning $51 million on its opening day and positioning itself for an estimated $120 million opening weekend, according to Variety.
The epic historical drama debuted across 3,919 theatres, marking one of the strongest opening-day performances of the year. The impressive debut puts the film on track to become another major commercial success for Nolan following the blockbuster run of Oppenheimer.
Produced on a reported $250 million budget, The Odyssey still has a long road to profitability. However, its strong opening suggests the film could recover its production costs if momentum continues in the coming weeks.
The film stars Matt Damon as the legendary Greek king Odysseus, whose perilous journey home after the Trojan War forms the basis of Homer’s ancient epic. The cast also includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and several other high-profile actors.
Damon recently described the production as the most demanding experience of his career. Speaking to People, the actor said filming across six countries felt more like an expedition than a traditional movie shoot.
“It really felt more like an expedition than a movie,” Damon said.
He praised director Christopher Nolan for enduring the same difficult conditions as the cast throughout production.
“And if you were cold and wet, you just turned and you looked and Chris was just as cold and just as wet and going through it,” Damon said.
The actor also recalled filming a particularly challenging sequence in a water tank at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, where powerful equipment created harsh conditions for the cast.
“Every location was really difficult, but in a really different way,” Damon said, adding that the production never became easier despite moving to controlled filming environments.
Released exclusively in theatres, The Odyssey is expected to remain one of Hollywood’s biggest box-office attractions as audiences continue to flock to Nolan’s latest large-scale cinematic spectacle.