Published : 13 Sep 2026, 09:08 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has become the highest-grossing film in the history of Universal Pictures, according to Variety.
The 114-year-old studio announced the milestone on Saturday. The Matt Damon-led epic's weekend earnings brought its domestic total to $601.2 million and its international tally to $1.083 billion.
That puts its combined worldwide gross at $1.68 billion.
Nolan's film, shot across the globe with a star-studded cast, reclaimed the top box office spot in its eighth weekend in theatres.
It marks the biggest opening of Nolan's career, surpassing "The Dark Knight Rises", and is now his highest-grossing film ever. The film was produced by Emma Thomas and Nolan through their Syncopy banner, with Thomas Hayslip as executive producer.
The film has also set several other records. It is the top-grossing R-rated film in history and the biggest earner ever for IMAX.
Despite drawing on 3,000-year-old source material, Variety stated that it is the first non-sequel film to gross over $1 billion overseas since 2009.
The success is also seen as a milestone for Universal chief Donna Langley, who brought Nolan to the studio after his departure from Warner Bros in 2021. That move led to the best picture winner "Oppenheimer" and now the best picture hopeful "The Odyssey".
The film's performance has further strengthened Universal's box office dominance in 2026. The studio leads all rivals with a 26 percent market share and nearly $5 billion in earnings so far this year, Variety reported.
It is also the first studio to cross $4 billion at the global box office and $3 billion internationally this year.
