‘The Odyssey’ Officially Dethrones ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ as Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movie Ever

Christopher Nolan has built a career on ambitious, genre-defying projects, and 2026 has proven to be his biggest commercial year yet. Between an all-star cast and a production built entirely around IMAX cameras, ‘The Odyssey‘ arrived this summer with outsized expectations attached to Homer’s ancient poem.

Those expectations have been met and then some. The film has spent weeks racking up milestones, from becoming Nolan’s highest-grossing movie ever to setting IMAX box office records that even ‘Avatar’ couldn’t touch.

Now the epic has claimed its biggest prize of all: ‘The Odyssey’ is officially the highest-grossing R-rated movie in box office history, surpassing ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ The 2024 Marvel blockbuster had held that record with a $1.34 billion global haul, and just days ago, Nolan’s film was still trailing by roughly $47 million, a gap that had been narrowing daily.

That gap has now closed for good. The Universal Pictures release crossed the threshold on the strength of an international rollout that has consistently outpaced its domestic performance, with overseas markets accounting for more than 60% of its total gross.

Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson, ‘The Odyssey’ opened domestically to $123.5 million across 3,919 theaters in July before holding the top two spots at the box office nearly every day since. Its domestic total has climbed past $500 million, while its international haul has pushed well beyond $780 million.

By comparison, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ earned $636.7 million domestically and $701.3 million internationally during its full 2024 run, a number that seemed untouchable for an R-rated release at the time. The Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team-up had itself dethroned 2019’s ‘Joker’ to claim the record, and it has now been the standard-bearer for mature-audience box office success for two years.

What makes ‘The Odyssey’s’ ascent notable is the budget disparity between the two films. Nolan’s epic reportedly cost $250 million to produce, a modest figure next to the $537 million combined production and marketing budget attached to the Marvel sequel. That efficiency has made the road to profitability, and now box office history, considerably shorter for the Greek epic.

Premium formats have played an outsized role in the film’s success story. ‘The Odyssey’ became the first feature ever shot entirely with IMAX cameras, and that format has driven a significant share of its earnings, with IMAX screenings alone generating well over $280 million worldwide. Limited 70mm engagements have been selling out more than a month in advance, prompting exhibitors to extend those screenings into mid-September.

The film’s international rollout still has runway left to run. ‘The Odyssey’ expanded into mainland China in mid-August across more than 20,000 screens, while its performance in India has already crossed the ₹200 crore mark, boosted heavily by Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubbed versions.

Beyond the R-rated crown, ‘The Odyssey’ has also become Nolan’s personal box office record-holder, surpassing ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ to claim the title of his highest-grossing film ever. It ranks among 2026’s biggest theatrical releases overall, trailing only ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ for the year’s top spot.

For a genre often assumed to have a commercial ceiling, ‘The Odyssey’s’ run rewrites what an R-rated epic can accomplish without the benefit of existing franchise recognition. Unlike its predecessor atop the chart, Nolan’s film isn’t a sequel or spin-off riding established brand loyalty, making its record-breaking haul all the more remarkable.

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