Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Just Joined an Incredibly Exclusive Box Office Club

Rated-R films have always faced an uphill battle at the box office, limited by their very rating from capturing the widest possible audience. That built-in ceiling has historically kept most R-rated releases from ever sniffing the kind of numbers reserved for family-friendly blockbusters, making any exception to that rule genuinely noteworthy.

This summer has quietly rewritten that narrative in dramatic fashion, thanks to one filmmaker’s willingness to bet big on a mature, sprawling epic that many assumed would struggle against its rating. What’s unfolded since has become one of the more remarkable box office stories of the year.

‘The Odyssey’ has become only the second R-rated film in history to cross $400 million at the domestic box office, according to tracking data covering the film’s third weekend in theaters. The Christopher Nolan-directed epic crossed that threshold on Monday, joining an extraordinarily short list of R-rated releases to ever reach that milestone domestically.

The film’s third-weekend performance alone was staggering on its own terms. ‘The Odyssey’ collected $51.1 million over its third three-day weekend, marking the second-biggest third weekend ever for an R-rated film at the North American box office, and the biggest third weekend of Christopher Nolan’s entire career, surpassing ‘The Dark Knight”s previous mark of $42.7 million.

That milestone Monday performance also set a new personal record for the director. According to reporting, the film delivered the biggest third Monday ever for an R-rated release, and the biggest third Monday of Nolan’s career, underscoring just how unusually strong the film’s holdover performance has been even weeks into its run.

‘The Odyssey’ has now surpassed the domestic lifetime totals of both ‘Deadpool,’ which earned $363.1 million, and ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ which earned $370.8 million, positioning it as the second-highest-grossing R-rated film ever at the North American box office, trailing only ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’

The film’s audience reception has matched its box office momentum. ‘The Odyssey’ earned an “A” CinemaScore, a notably strong grade for a nearly three-hour, R-rated epic based on Homer’s ancient poem, reflecting the kind of enthusiastic word-of-mouth that’s helped the film maintain unusually small weekend-to-weekend drops throughout its run.

Globally, the film has already crossed $900 million worldwide, making it Christopher Nolan’s fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, having already surpassed both ‘Interstellar’ and ‘Inception.’ With markets like China, Japan, and Korea still ahead, the film’s path toward the $1 billion mark appears all but guaranteed.

Starring Matt Damon as the Greek king Odysseus alongside a sprawling ensemble that includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong’o, ‘The Odyssey’ was shot entirely using IMAX film cameras, a technical achievement that’s helped fuel its dominance in premium large-format screens throughout its theatrical run. With records continuing to fall well into its third weekend, Nolan’s ambitious adaptation of Homer’s epic poem shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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