Christopher Nolan's epic retelling of Homer's classic has just added another feather to its cap. The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson, has now surpassed the domestic box office haul of Wonder Woman, one of the most beloved entries in the DC Extended Universe. With approximately $415 million earned domestically, Nolan's mythological adventure has edged past the $412 million that Patty Jenkins' 2017 superhero film brought in.
This milestone comes even as The Odyssey faced stiff competition from Spider-Man: Brand New Day over the weekend. Despite that, the film is on track to cross the $1 billion mark globally within days. If it does, it will also overtake The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises to become Nolan's highest-grossing movie ever. That's a remarkable feat for a film with a 173-minute runtime and an R rating, which typically limits box office potential.
The movie has already outperformed several Marvel Cinematic Universe hits, and now it's taken down one of the DCEU's finest. Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, was a critical and commercial triumph when it debuted, earning a 93% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, was less well-received and underperformed at the box office after a simultaneous HBO Max release. A third film was announced but later scrapped following leadership changes at Warner Bros.
For Nolan, The Odyssey is another triumph in a career full of them. The film holds a 94% critics' score and a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus praising its "majestic sweep" and "colossal ensemble." Coming off his first Best Director Oscar win for Oppenheimer, Nolan could be looking at more awards next year.
While The Odyssey is a fantasy epic in its own right, it's interesting to see how it stacks up against other genre fare. For fans of the genre, there are plenty of other fantasy adventure games to explore, or perhaps some fantasy novels with prose so perfect they read like poetry.
The film's success also highlights the enduring appeal of mythological stories, much like the fantasy epics worthy of Tolkien's crown. And with Tom Holland in the cast, it's no surprise that his other projects, like Uncharted, have seen a streaming boost.
The Odyssey is currently in theaters, and audiences are clearly embracing it. As it continues its march toward $1 billion, it's proving that even in a crowded marketplace, a well-crafted epic can still dominate.
