The Odyssey Crosses $1.17 Billion Overseas, Becoming Universal’s Biggest International Release Ever

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has surpassed $1.17 billion at the international box office, overtaking Furious 7 as Universal’s highest-grossing overseas release of all time. Universal executives confirmed the milestone to Screen Daily on October 30, saying the film crossed the threshold during the week. The record covers ticket revenue outside North America, not worldwide receipts.

Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic follows Odysseus’s decade-long journey home from the Trojan War to Penelope in Ithaca, with Matt Damon in the title role alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron. Its commercial reach has been unusually broad even by Nolan’s standards: it opened at number one in 77 markets, delivered his biggest international opening and has reached his highest international cumulative gross.

The key-market figures underline the breadth. The UK and Ireland lead with $118.5 million, followed by China at $115 million and South Korea at $102.7 million. France contributed $93.2 million, Germany $68.2 million, Italy $67.6 million, Australia $49.4 million, Spain $45.2 million, Mexico $38.6 million, Brazil $25.9 million and India $24.2 million (approximately Rs 2.3 billion). The Odyssey is Nolan’s biggest film in 78 markets, and Universal’s highest-grossing release in 45 markets, including South Korea, France, Italy, Australia, the Netherlands and India. In South Korea it is the market’s biggest Hollywood film and second-biggest film overall. The film ranks second internationally among 2026 releases, behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while Universal’s international receipts stand at $3.37 billion — the studio was the first this year to pass both $3 billion overseas and $5 billion worldwide. All figures are trade estimates.

Here is the Filmverse take: the record matters because it was not built on one exceptional market but on depth almost everywhere. A film adapted from a 3,000-year-old poem, shot on IMAX film cameras and running close to three hours, is not supposed to be the broadest commercial play in a studio’s history — yet The Odyssey has outgrossed a Fast and Furious sequel overseas by travelling like a local hit in market after market. That breadth is also why the Indian figure deserves attention: at Rs 2.3 billion, India is one of the run’s top ten territories, a sign of how far Nolan’s audience in India has grown since Oppenheimer. With the film heading to digital and 4K Ultra HD in mid-November, the theatrical record is now effectively sealed. For another recent Hollywood box-office story, read our report on Clayface’s opening here: https://filmverse.in/clayface-box-office-43-million-worldwide-dc-tom-rhys-harries/

Sources: FilmoFilia (citing Screen Daily), Universal Pictures — all box-office figures are trade estimates