Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' Hits Another Major Milestone Overseas

Christopher Nolan has had a genuinely mixed history at the Chinese box office over the years, with some of his biggest films landing well short of blockbuster status in the territory despite performing strongly almost everywhere else. That history made China one of the more unpredictable markets to watch once ‘The Odyssey’ finally made its way there.

The film launched across more than 20,000 screens in mainland China on August 14, nearly a month after its global rollout, including nearly 800 IMAX screens covering roughly 90% of the country’s IMAX footprint. Backed by $13.5 million already banked from advance bookings and preview screenings before general audiences even got their first look, the epic went on to post a $36.3 million three-day opening weekend, beating ‘Tenet’s’ previous $29.8 million debut to become Nolan’s biggest three-day opening ever in the country.

Five weekends later, that momentum has carried the film across an even bigger milestone. ‘The Odyssey’ has officially crossed $100 million at the Chinese box office, adding $3.5 million over its most recent three-day frame to push its cumulative total to roughly $104.4 million after just 31 days in release, even as the weekend gross came in 37.5% below the previous frame.

In #China’s #BoxOffice, Epic #TheOdyssey keeps rewriting history, as #ChristopherNolan adds $3.5M on 5th 3-day weekend, just a -37.5% drop from last weekend, after grossing STRONG $1.2M on 5th SUN, despite playing over just 19k screenings (+1k from last SUN).

It hits a $104.4M… pic.twitter.com/WEHlpHWXfT
— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) September 13, 2026

That drop-off came despite the film actually gaining screens rather than losing them, playing across roughly 19,000 locations over the weekend, about 1,000 more than the same point the week before. Sunday alone still managed a solid $1.2 million, with early pre-sales already suggesting a further pullback in screen count heading into the new week as exhibitors shift capacity toward newer local releases.

Crossing the $100 million threshold carries real weight within Nolan’s personal box office history in the country. The milestone pushes ‘The Odyssey’ past the China runs of ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Tenet,’ and ‘Inception,’ leaving it second only to ‘Interstellar’s’ $122 million lifetime China gross among all of his films to date.

The achievement also makes ‘The Odyssey’ the first Hollywood film that’s neither a sequel nor an established franchise title to cross $100 million in China since the pandemic reshaped the country’s theatrical landscape, and only the twelfth Hollywood film of any kind to reach that mark in the post-COVID era. For an original, R-rated literary adaptation competing against a market that has increasingly favored homegrown blockbusters and established franchises, that distinction is a meaningful one.

In 2 Weeks, experience The Odyssey in theaters on July 17. Get tickets now. https://t.co/sk8jwTBi7P pic.twitter.com/9wjoSuVJqE
— The Odyssey Movie (@odysseymovie) July 1, 2026

The film has managed this while competing directly against a crowded local release calendar, including the war comedy-drama ‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East,’ which has held the number one spot at the Chinese box office for five straight weekends running. Holding steady in a strong second or fourth position against that kind of sustained domestic competition speaks to just how much staying power ‘The Odyssey’ has demonstrated in a market that doesn’t always reward foreign titles with this kind of longevity.

With the film’s worldwide total already pushing past $1.68 billion and its domestic and international totals continuing to climb in tandem, China’s contribution now stands as one of the more surprising success stories in ‘The Odyssey’s’ overall box office run, especially for a director whose relationship with the territory has been anything but guaranteed.