Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Dominates Box Office Amid Franchise Challenges

Christopher Nolan’s latest film, “The Odyssey,” has taken the box office by storm, outperforming its contemporaries over the past week. The summer season has seen many franchise films struggle, but “The Odyssey” shines with impressive earnings.

The film, a star-studded adaptation distributed by Universal Pictures, earned $123 million domestically and crossed $263 million globally in its opening weekend. This achievement marks Nolan’s strongest global opening, surpassing previous successes like “The Dark Knight” trilogy and “Oppenheimer.” During the week, the movie continued its strong performance, making over $18 million domestically on Monday and Wednesday, and over $21 million on Tuesday. Its global revenue has already surpassed $320 million in under a week.

“Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ has dominated the box office this past week, grossing more than $320 million globally in less than a week.”

While “The Odyssey” thrives, other franchise films flounder. Disney’s live-action “Moana,” with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role, earned a disappointing $43 million domestically at its opening. In contrast, the animated original made $56 million during its debut in 2016, and “Moana 2” reached nearly $140 million in 2024. The costs of the live-action remake, reportedly $250 million, hint at a loss of around $100 million, as it has only grossed $186 million globally.

Warner Bros.’ “Supergirl” also struggled, generating just $37 million domestically in its opening weekend and unlikely to surpass $150 million worldwide. This falls short compared to last year’s “Superman,” which earned over $600 million globally. The Milly Alcock-led “Supergirl” risks a loss of $100 million for Warner Bros.

Other franchises face similar challenges. “Minions & Monsters” earned $37 million domestically upon release and $366 million globally, making it the weakest in the “Despicable Me” series. Previously, “Despicable Me 4” opened with $75 million domestically and approached $1 billion globally.

“‘Toy Story 5’ opened to an astonishing $159 million domestically during its opening weekend last month and is expected to cross $1 billion worldwide.”

“The Mandalorian & Grogu” became Disney’s lowest-grossing “Star Wars” film, making only $340 million worldwide. The previous low was “Solo,” with $392 million in 2018.

While some traditional franchises struggle, other films succeed. “Toy Story 5” had a remarkable $159 million domestic opening and should cross $1 billion globally. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” opened with $131 million domestically and also surpassed the $1 billion mark globally. “Scream 7” earned over $63 million domestically in its debut, eventually crossing $200 million worldwide.

Original films like “Project Hail Mary,” starring Ryan Gosling and based on Andy Weir’s book, have excelled. This film made over $680 million, becoming Amazon Studios’ top-grossing film. Lionsgate’s “Michael” biopic earned over $1 billion, overtaking profits from their “Hunger Games” and “Twilight” series.

Surprisingly, low-budget horror films also stood out. “Obsession,” created by Curry Barker, exceeded expectations with over $400 million globally. “Backrooms,” by YouTuber Kane Parsons, debuted with $81 million and earned $360 million worldwide, setting new records for A24.

Next week’s release, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” by Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, faces a daunting task. Its predecessor, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” opened to $260 million domestically in 2021. The new film must overcome franchise and superhero fatigue that has affected recent Marvel Cinematic Universe projects like “Captain America: Brave New World” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” which did not meet financial expectations.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Contact him with story tips at [email protected] or follow on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.