‘The Odyssey’ Is About to Make Universal Pictures History by Dethroning ‘Jurassic World’

Christopher Nolan has spent the better part of two decades proving original, non-franchise filmmaking can still dominate the box office, but even by his own towering standards, this summer has been something different. What began as an ambitious three-hour adaptation of Homer’s ancient epic has quietly turned into the defining theatrical phenomenon of the year, and the milestones keep piling up.

‘The Odyssey‘ opened well above expectations back in July and, rather than fading after a strong debut, has continued adding record after record throughout an unusually long and steady theatrical run. Strong word-of-mouth carried it deep into international markets, culminating in a China debut that outperformed nearly every previous Nolan release in the region.

Now the film is on the verge of something even bigger. ‘The Odyssey’ is set to become the highest-grossing Hollywood film not fully or partially owned by Disney at the worldwide box office, surpassing ‘Jurassic World,’ and it’s also poised to become the biggest film in Universal Pictures’ entire history. That milestone hinges on the film crossing $1.67 billion globally, the current lifetime haul of ‘Jurassic World,’ a threshold ‘The Odyssey’ is closing in on with international rollouts, including Japan, still ahead of it.

Christopher Nolan’s grounded adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has already crossed $1.699 billion worldwide, according to Rotten Tomatoes’ running tally of the highest-grossing movies of all time, officially making it the highest-earning film of Nolan’s career. Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson, the film has become the highest-grossing release of each of those actors’ careers to date.

The film’s box office success extends well beyond simply catching ‘Jurassic World.’ ‘The Odyssey’ has already overtaken ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, a genuinely remarkable feat given the film’s nearly three-hour runtime and decidedly non-franchise subject matter. It’s also become Nolan’s single biggest hit as a filmmaker, surpassing both ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ at the box office.

Domestically, the film has been just as dominant. It’s on track to become just the sixth film in Universal’s history to surpass $400 million domestically, and only the fourth live-action release to do so, joining a list that includes two ‘Super Mario’ films and two ‘Jurassic’ entries. Its second weekend alone pulled in $87 million, ranking among the thirteen best second weekends of all time and surpassing the second-weekend numbers of both ‘Frozen II’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’

There’s also a layer of personal irony to the achievement given Nolan’s own history with epic storytelling. The director was reportedly once attached to a different take on ancient mythology over two decades ago with ‘Troy,’ before ultimately choosing to direct ‘Batman Begins’ instead, making this box office crown feel like a full-circle moment two decades in the making.

With ‘Jurassic World’ having held its own place in box office history as the fastest film ever to cross $1 billion, taking just thirteen days back in 2015, ‘The Odyssey’ overtaking it marks a genuine passing of the torch for Universal’s biggest-ever theatrical release. Given how much of the film’s international rollout is still unfolding, particularly in Japan, that final tally could climb even higher before its theatrical run concludes.

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