'The Odyssey' posts a historic second-weekend hold
Reports published this weekend indicate that Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" earned $87 million from 3,943 North American theaters in its second weekend of release, a decline of just 30% from its $123.5 million opening. The figure marks the second-biggest sophomore outing for an R-rated film, behind only "Deadpool & Wolverine" ($96 million). Combined with $128 million from overseas theaters, the Universal/Syncopy release has grossed $286.4 million domestically and $639.6 million globally, placing its 30% weekend drop among the three lowest ever for a film with a $100 million-plus opener. Produced for a reported $250 million with marketing costs of approximately $125 million, the Matt Damon-led adaptation of Homer's epic poem holds a 94% critics score and 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Premium formats and IMAX drive outsized performance
"The Odyssey" has generated $140 million globally in IMAX through the weekend, including $78 million domestically and $62 million internationally, with the title being the first feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras. The 41 IMAX 70mm screens worldwide contributed $5.2 million over the weekend and $16.9 million to date, accounting for 12.1% of the film's total IMAX revenue. IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond said the film has "crossed over from hit blockbuster to global cultural event," while FranchiseRe's David A. Gross noted unusually sustained "holding power."
'Toy Story 5' overtakes rivals to become 2026's top grosser
Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5" surpassed $1 billion globally this weekend with $448 million from domestic theaters and $573 million from international markets for a worldwide total of $1.022 billion, overtaking "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Michael" ($1.001 billion each) as the year's highest grosser. Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, the Tom Hanks-led animated sequel is poised to surpass "Toy Story 4" ($1.07 billion) as the franchise's top earner and added $10 million domestically in its sixth weekend. The film opened in mid-June to $160 million and features a new Taylor Swift song on its soundtrack; its run comes amid recent Disney layoffs affecting Pixar.
Holdovers and a Broadway-derived debut
Disney's "Moana" crossed the $100 million domestic mark with $10.7 million from 3,009 theaters in its third weekend, pushing its worldwide tally to $228 million against a production budget of at least $200 million—a performance characterized as one of the year's high-profile flops given overseas results. "Hadestown: The Musical," a filmed adaptation of the Broadway production about Orpheus and Eurydice, opened with $9.6 million from 1,949 theaters, comparable to the $10.1 million debut posted by the filmed version of "Hamilton" from 1,825 screens.
International markets: India and West Africa
In India, "The Odyssey" earned Rs 11.05 crore net on its ninth day—up 61.3% from the previous day—pushing its India net total to Rs 108.20 crore and gross to Rs 129.15 crore across 4,591 shows in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. In Nigeria, the film grossed N215.53 million in its first seven days (July 17–23), placing it fifth on the West African Hollywood chart behind "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (N318.5 million), "Avengers: Endgame" (N304.9 million), "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (N245.5 million), and "Avengers: Infinity War" (N225 million), according to Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria data.
Year tracking and the Spider-Man showdown
With "Toy Story 5," "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Michael" already past the $1 billion threshold, 2026 is tracking to produce the most billion-dollar films since 2019, when nine titles reached the milestone and no film crossed the mark the following year due to pandemic-related theater closures. Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, is set to open July 31, with tracking suggesting it could match the $260 million domestic opening of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Exhibitors are watching how the dual presence of "Spider-Man" and "The Odyssey" will shape what is traditionally a slower August at the global box office.
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