The Odyssey Just Broke Monday Box Office Records in Italy and the UK, Proving the World Cup Couldn’t Slow It Down

Christopher Nolan has built a career on turning theatrical releases into genuine cultural events, and ‘The Odyssey‘ has spent its opening days proving that reputation is well earned. The film’s launch coincided with one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar, giving the box office story an unexpected twist right out of the gate.

With the World Cup final dominating attention across Europe over the weekend, industry watchers braced for at least some dip in ticket sales as fans split their time between stadiums, screens, and living rooms. Instead, once the tournament wrapped and moviegoers returned to their regular routines, the numbers coming in told a very different story.

According to reporting from box office trackers, ‘The Odyssey’ posted a record Monday at the Italian box office, grossing $2.1 million on what became the biggest Monday of all time for a Hollywood release in that market. The number reportedly beat out major benchmarks, including ‘Inside Out 2’s’ $1.8 million, ‘Oppenheimer’s’ $1.4 million and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’s’ $1.2 million.

That Monday total came with only a 27.5 percent drop from Sunday, a remarkably soft decline for a market that had just weathered a World Cup final weekend. The film’s Italian cume now sits at $13.5 million with 1.4 million admissions after just five days in release.

The story looked much the same across the Channel. ‘The Odyssey’ also exploded on Monday at the British box office, grossing $3.7 million for the biggest post-COVID Monday in the UK, a modest 22.9 percent drop from Sunday that pushed the film’s local cume to $20.6 million in just four days.

These Monday numbers build on an already record-breaking opening weekend for the film worldwide. ‘The Odyssey’ delivered the biggest global opening of 2026 for a live-action, non-sequel film, pulling in a worldwide debut that stands as Nolan’s biggest career opening to date.

Italy in particular has been a standout market throughout the rollout, with reports noting the country delivered the biggest Nolan opening day in Italy and Universal’s biggest ever opening day there, alongside standing as the biggest ever July opening in the market. That kind of summertime success defies long-standing assumptions that blockbusters historically struggle in Italian theaters during warmer months.

The UK performance carries its own historical weight, given the country’s status as Nolan’s traditional stronghold. The film’s opening weekend there registered as Nolan’s second-biggest opening frame in the market, landing well ahead of Oppenheimer, with premium large format screens playing a major role in driving those numbers.

Premium formats have been central to the film’s success across nearly every territory it has opened in so far. Nolan shot ‘The Odyssey’ using custom IMAX-branded cameras and favored practical locations over digital effects, an approach that has translated into strong demand for the biggest, highest-quality screens available in each market.

With ‘The Odyssey’ having already set records in 48 territories, including France, India, Spain and Brazil, and with major markets like South Korea, China, and Japan still to come, the film’s momentum shows little sign of slowing down. Between the strongholds in Italy and the UK and the film’s continued dominance on premium formats, Nolan’s homeric epic appears to be settling in for a long theatrical run rather than a quick opening weekend spike.

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