‘The Odyssey’ Just Pulled off a Rare Box Office Feat Overseas

Christopher Nolan has built his reputation on delivering box office runs that defy the usual pattern of a big opening followed by a steep decline, and ‘The Odyssey’ has continued that trend well beyond North American shores. The mythological epic, following Matt Damon’s Odysseus on his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, has turned into one of the year’s most consistent international performers since its release, with a cast that also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron, and Zendaya.

That consistency has been especially pronounced in South Korea, one of the world’s most competitive theatrical markets. ‘The Odyssey’ debuted atop the Korean box office chart in early August, dethroning ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ from the top spot and pulling in over 1.3 million admissions in its opening weekend alone.

Rather than fading after that strong debut, the film has kept climbing. ‘The Odyssey’ added $5 million on its second Saturday in Korean theaters, citing figures shared online by box office tracker Luiz Fernando, marking the biggest second Saturday for any Hollywood release in the country since the pandemic began. That figure surpassed ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s’ own second Saturday total of $3.8 million, and represented a 22.8% increase over the film’s first Saturday gross.

That kind of week-over-week growth is highly unusual for major theatrical releases, which typically see steady declines as opening weekend hype fades. With that second Saturday performance factored in, ‘The Odyssey’ has now crossed a cumulative $29.6 million in Korea with 3.8 million total admissions after just 11 days in theaters, putting it on pace for a projected second five-day weekend total between $16 million and $16.5 million, an 11% to 14% increase over its opening figures.

That growth pattern points directly to word-of-mouth momentum rather than simple marketing hype carrying the film forward. Rather than the typical steep decline films experience heading into their second week, ‘The Odyssey’ has instead seen its single-day grosses grow during that stretch, a sign that audiences who caught the film early are actively recommending it to others.

That trend has held steady across multiple data points throughout the film’s Korean run. The movie’s Friday numbers also grew during its second week compared to its first, an unusual pattern that further reinforces just how strong audience reception has been beyond the opening weekend rush.

‘The Odyssey’s’ performance is drawing particular attention because of its direct competition with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ in the Korean market. Despite going head-to-head with one of the year’s biggest superhero releases, Nolan’s film has managed to hold its number one position while continuing to outpace Spider-Man’s own week-over-week numbers in the same market.

That achievement carries extra weight given how differently the two films are positioned. While ‘Brand New Day’ benefits from built-in franchise recognition and a younger target audience, ‘The Odyssey’ has managed to sustain and even grow its momentum on the strength of reviews and audience recommendations alone, a rarer feat for an original, R-rated epic competing against established superhero IP.

With ‘The Odyssey’ continuing to defy typical box office patterns both domestically and internationally, its Korean performance adds another data point to what’s already shaping up as one of Christopher Nolan’s most commercially successful films yet. The film’s overall Korean cume already places it well ahead of pace for a market that has historically been difficult for adult-skewing, non-franchise theatrical releases to dominate.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!