‘The Odyssey’ Overtakes ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ at the Domestic Box Office

Christopher Nolan’s filmography has always been defined by ambitious, large-scale storytelling, and his adaptation of Homer’s ancient epic has spent its entire theatrical run proving that ambition can still translate into massive commercial success. Since debuting on July 17, ‘The Odyssey’ has steadily climbed the ranks of Nolan’s own box office history, breaking record after record along the way.

That climb has continued well into the film’s fourth weekend in theaters, with the R-rated epic showing no real signs of slowing down despite facing stiff competition from other major summer releases. Even with a nearly three-hour runtime and adult-oriented rating, the film has managed to sustain remarkably strong legs throughout its domestic run.

The latest milestone arrived when ‘The Odyssey’ added another $30.5 million domestically, pushing its total domestic haul to $460.1 million. That figure is now enough to surpass ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ officially making ‘The Odyssey’ Nolan’s second-highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office, according to Deadline.

That achievement places ‘The Odyssey’ just behind ‘The Dark Knight,’ which remains Nolan’s top domestic earner at $535 million, while officially pushing past ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ the film that previously held the second spot on his personal domestic chart. Given the pace the movie has maintained so far, closing that remaining gap doesn’t appear entirely out of reach before its theatrical run eventually winds down.

Domestically strong legs have been only part of the story for ‘The Odyssey.’ The film has already become Nolan’s highest-grossing release ever on a global basis, surpassing $1.1 billion worldwide and overtaking ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ internationally as well, a milestone reached earlier in its run before this latest domestic update arrived.

That worldwide success has been fueled in part by the film’s massive presence on IMAX screens, where it recently became the format’s highest-grossing release of all time, surpassing ‘Avatar’s’ longstanding record. With the film shot entirely using IMAX cameras, a first for any feature film, that premium format success has played a significant role in sustaining the movie’s momentum well beyond a typical summer blockbuster’s shelf life.

Even with these domestic and global records already secured, ‘The Odyssey’ still has significant theatrical runway left to cover. The film has yet to open in China, one of the world’s largest moviegoing markets, leaving room for its global total to climb even further in the weeks ahead.

Given how consistently the film has continued adding to its domestic total week after week, ‘The Odyssey’ overtaking ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ feels like just the latest entry in a growing list of achievements for Nolan’s latest project. With awards season conversations already building around the film and its theatrical run far from finished, there’s a real possibility ‘The Odyssey’ could climb even higher on Nolan’s personal box office rankings before all is said and done.

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