Christopher Nolan's new film "The Odyssey" has posted a stronger opening than "Dune: Part Two", one of recent years' most celebrated science-fiction releases, marking a strong start for the director's follow-up to his Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer". At a reported $250 million, it is Nolan's most expensive film to date, tying "The Dark Knight Rises", and would need to gross around $1 billion worldwide to be considered a genuine blockbuster success.

The film has launched with a "Certified Fresh" 95% critics' score and a "Verified Hot" 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside an A grade from opening-day CinemaScore audiences. It opened in more than 70 territories, with China, Japan and South Korea still to come, and took $18 million in US Thursday previews, the best of the year so far. It is on course to deliver the top live-action opening weekend of 2026, the best debut of star Matt Damon's career, and the third-biggest of Nolan's own career, behind only "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Dark Knight".