Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has become the biggest release in Universal Pictures’ history outside North America, passing $1.17bn and overtaking Furious 7, the studio confirmed to Screen International on Friday 30 October.
Key facts
- The Odyssey has grossed $1.17bn outside North America, ahead of the $1.16bn Furious 7 took after its 2015 release
- Worldwide it stands at about $1.8bn, with $625.6m from the US and Canada, according to Box Office Mojo
- Its biggest markets outside North America are the UK and Ireland ($118.5m), China ($115m) and South Korea ($102.7m)
- It opened at No. 1 in 77 markets and is Universal’s top-grossing release ever in 45 markets
- Universal has taken $3.37bn outside North America this year, more than any other Hollywood studio
The record was set with far less help from China than the one it replaces. Furious 7 took $390.9m in mainland China in 2015, about a third of its total outside North America; The Odyssey has taken $115.5m there, according to Box Office Mojo. Excluding China, Nolan’s film has earned about $1.06bn outside North America, against $771m for Furious 7.
Box Office Mojo puts the film’s total outside North America at $1,170.5m, against $1,162.3m for Furious 7, which had held the studio’s record for 11 years. The US and Canada have added $625.6m since the film opened there on 17 July, taking the worldwide gross to $1,796.1m. Markets outside North America account for 65.2% of the total, compared with 76.7% for Furious 7. These are gross box office figures, not Universal’s revenue.
Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of distribution at Universal Pictures International, told Screen that Nolan’s star power “transcends borders”. According to Screen, the film is the second-highest-grossing release of 2026 outside North America, behind Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the eighth-highest-grossing Hollywood film of all time.
Where the money came from
The UK and Ireland lead the table with $118.5m (£88.2m), followed by China with $115m (about RMB766m), South Korea with $102.7m and France with $93.2m (€81.1m). Germany has contributed $68.2m (€59.3m), Italy $67.6m (€58.9m), Australia $49.4m (A$70.2m) and Spain $45.2m (€39.3m), according to figures Universal gave Screen. In Latin America, Mexico has taken $38.6m (MXN668.6m) and Brazil $25.9m (BRL132.5m). India has added $24.2m (₹230 crore). The dollar figures are Universal’s.
Korea stands out. Screen reports that The Odyssey is the biggest Hollywood release ever in the country and the second-biggest film of all time there. Korean Film Council (KOFIC) data show 12.31 million admissions and KRW140.5bn ($106m at the European Central Bank rate for 23 October) in ticket sales by Sunday 25 October, the film’s 12th weekend since its 5 August release, when it was still No. 7 on the weekend chart. Its run helped Korean cinemas to their best nine months since the pandemic.
The film is also Nolan’s biggest in 78 markets, including the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Korea, Australia and India, and gave the British director his best opening outside North America.
A strong year for Universal and for exhibition
Universal was the first Hollywood studio to pass $3bn outside North America in 2026 and the first to pass $5bn worldwide, it told Screen. The film’s run fed into a wider recovery: Gower Street Analytics has raised its 2026 global box office forecast to $35.7bn, and Marcus Theatres put its higher third-quarter attendance down to The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day when it reported record quarterly revenue. Outside the US and China, our analysis found box office back at pre-pandemic levels in dollars, though not in tickets.
The adaptation of Homer’s epic stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Samantha Morton, Zendaya and Lupita Nyong’o. Nolan and Emma Thomas produced through their company Syncopy, with Thomas Hayslip as executive producer.
What comes next
The total outside North America can still edge up as the film’s remaining runs wind down. The figures above are Universal’s and Box Office Mojo’s as of 30 October, and KOFIC’s as of 25 October; final totals may differ slightly.
Our reading
For sellers and financiers, the split matters more than the record. About two-thirds of the gross came from outside North America, and a film that did not depend on China still beat a franchise record built partly on it. Korea alone has out-earned France. Any plan for a large non-franchise film that treats markets outside North America as secondary is working from an old map. The next evidence is whether studios price that into how they finance and date the next big original release.