Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey" delivered a stronger-than-expected opening weekend, taking $124.5 million domestically and $264.1 million worldwide. The result marks the biggest global debut of Nolan's career, surpassing 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises," and is notable because a big-budget film based on an ancient Greek epic poem was not a guaranteed commercial success.

The Universal release, which cost around $250 million to produce, stars Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside an ensemble including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, John Leguizamo and Jon Bernthal. It ranks as the year's third-biggest domestic and global opener behind "Toy Story 5" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie", both sequels to established franchises. A key driver was Imax, with the format's cameras used throughout the entire film for the first time, generating $51.8 million, or 23%, of global ticket sales in its debut.