Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" defied typical box office trends by earning $87 million in its second weekend, dropping just 30% from its $123.5 million opening rather than the 50%-plus decline usually seen for major tentpoles. The film's strong staying power, driven by positive word-of-mouth and demand for premium formats such as Imax, suggests it will remain a significant draw through the summer and into autumn, easily justifying Universal's substantial investment.

After two weekends, the Matt Damon-led adaptation of Homer's epic has grossed $286.4 million in North America and $639.6 million globally, against a $250 million production budget and roughly $125 million marketing spend. It faces its first major test next weekend against Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", though exhibitors are optimistic that two big films could boost the usually quiet August period. Separately, "Hadestown: The Musical", a filmed version of the Broadway show, also opened strongly with $9.6 million and is being extended in cinemas due to demand.