‘The Odyssey’ Just Did Something Even Oppenheimer Couldn’t, and It’s a Sweet Bit of Box Office Poetry

Christopher Nolan has spent decades building a reputation as one of the few filmmakers who can consistently turn original, non-franchise material into legitimate box office events. That reputation only grew stronger with ‘Oppenheimer,’ a three-hour biographical drama that somehow became one of the defining cultural moments of 2023 through the now-legendary Barbenheimer phenomenon.

Yet for all the buzz that surrounded ‘Oppenheimer,’ one number always lingered just out of reach. Despite becoming a genuine awards juggernaut and box office success in its own right, the film finished its theatrical run at $976 million worldwide, falling just short of matching the massive $1.447 billion global haul posted by its pink-hued cinematic rival that same summer.

Now, Nolan’s follow-up epic appears ready to finish what ‘Oppenheimer’ couldn’t. ‘The Odyssey‘ has stormed past another milestone, with the film now sitting less than $1 million behind ‘Barbie’s’ final worldwide box office total, putting it on track to officially surpass the biggest box office hit in Warner Bros. history within a matter of days.

That achievement carries a particular kind of poetic weight given the direct history between Nolan and ‘Barbie.’ The two films were forever linked by their simultaneous 2023 release, and while ‘Oppenheimer’ delivered Nolan’s most acclaimed work in years, it never quite matched Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster at the global box office, a gap that ‘The Odyssey’ now seems poised to finally close.

‘The Odyssey’s’ box office success extends well beyond just catching up to ‘Barbie.’ The film has already made history as the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever released, having surpassed ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ during its theatrical run. It’s also become Nolan’s single biggest hit as a filmmaker, officially beating both ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ at the domestic and international box office alike.

After a full month in theaters worldwide, Nolan’s grounded adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic has earned $1.446 billion globally, according to Box Office Mojo. 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, a remarkable feat for a nearly three-hour adaptation of a poem written thousands of years ago.

There’s an added layer of irony to the film’s success given Nolan’s own history with the source material. The director was reportedly once attached to a different take on Greek mythology over two decades ago with ‘Troy,’ before ultimately choosing to direct ‘Batman Begins’ instead. ‘The Odyssey’ has now grossed nearly three times as much as ‘Troy’ ever managed at the worldwide box office.

Much like ‘Oppenheimer’ before it, ‘The Odyssey’ has also had to compete directly against another major box office force throughout most of its theatrical run, this time in the form of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’ Rather than cannibalizing audience interest, that head-to-head rivalry appears to have only fueled greater enthusiasm for both films, helping drive a genuinely strong summer at the domestic box office.

With Nolan’s films collectively having crossed $7 billion at the worldwide box office throughout his career, ‘The Odyssey’ now stands as the crown jewel of that entire filmography. It’s a milestone that feels especially fitting given how directly tied the film’s marketing and cultural conversation have been to the very rival it’s now on the verge of surpassing.

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