The long-awaited film “The Odyssey”, directed by Christopher Nolan, conquered the North American box office on its first day. The adaptation of Homer's epic poem grossed $51 million on Friday in 3,919 theaters, far exceeding initial estimates, according to data from Box Office Mojo.

Although early estimates put the weekend's take between $90 million and $100 million, Friday's excellent performance led analysts to project that the film could reach $120 million by Sunday, Variety said.

If confirmed, “The Odyssey” would become the third film of 2026 to exceed $100 million in its debut, joining “Toy Story 5” ($159 million) and “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131 million).

With these figures, the film starring Matt Damon as Odysseus is positioned as Nolan's best release since “The Dark Knight Rises” ($160 million in 2012), and has already surpassed the total opening weekend collection of “Interstellar” ($47.5 million) and is approaching the $82 million of “Oppenheimer.”

The film has a luxury cast that includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. All this with a budget of $250 million that seems to be paying off.

Box office competition

Nolan's epic promises to continue its successful run in movie theaters, establishing itself as one of the great cinematographic phenomena of the year.