Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey becomes the highest-grossing film of his career

The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing film of Christopher Nolan's career, surpassing $1bn at the global box office less than a month after its release on July 17.

Ireland topped the global box office as the country with the biggest opening weekend per capita for the adaptation of Homer's epic, which follows Matt Damon as the Greek King of Ithaca, Odysseus, on his 10-year journey home after the Trojan war.

The film received strong reviews from critics and grossed $1.104 billion worldwide, becoming the most successful and most expensive of his career. It had a reported budget of $250 million, excluding marketing costs.

Nolan's previous most successful film was Batman The Dark Knight Rises, which earned $1.085 billion and is the highest-grossing Batman film to date. His past record-holder was at risk of being dethroned by Oppenheimer in 2023, which made $983.1 million worldwide.

Nolan is the third highest-grossing director of all time, following Stephen Spielberg and James Cameron. He has directed blockbusters such as Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar and Memento, with his films grossing more than seven billion dollars globally.

The 56-year-old wrote and directed The Odyssey, producing it with his wife Emma Thomas.

Alongside Damon, the stacked cast includes Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, featuring in the highest-grossing film of their careers. It also stars Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o.

It is the second highest-grossing film of 2026, following Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Released on July 29, it stars Holland and has made over $1.6 billion.

The Odyssey is the first feature film to be shot entirely with Imax cameras, which produces high-resolution content using 70mm film.