Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Becomes Highest-Grossing R-Rated Film of All Time at $1.352 Billion
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has overtaken Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, with $1.352 billion in worldwide box office. The previous record holder, Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine, finished its run at $1.338 billion. Variety reported the milestone on 20 August 2026.
Released on 17 July, The Odyssey opened to $123 million domestically — domestic meaning the United States and Canada, the standard North American measure used by studios. Since then the film has accumulated $516 million domestically and $835 million internationally, according to Variety. It is the third R-rated release in history, after Joker, to cross the $1 billion line.
The film's Imax numbers are even more striking. Large-format screens generated $354 million in revenue for The Odyssey, making it the highest-grossing Imax release of all time — outpacing 2009's Avatar, which had held the record at $271 million (not adjusted for inflation). Variety
For Nolan, The Odyssey is now his biggest career title, surpassing 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, which grossed $1.08 billion worldwide (not adjusted for inflation). It is the fifth release of the year to cross $1 billion. Variety
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and features a cast including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. Ryan Reynolds, whose Deadpool & Wolverine held the record Nolan's film just broke, posted on X to congratulate the cast and crew. Variety
What makes the record notable is how thoroughly Nolan's film clears the bar. The $14 million margin over Deadpool & Wolverine is modest, but the Imax record — beating Avatar by $83 million — is a different order of dominance. Nolan has long championed large-format film, shooting on 65mm stock and building set pieces designed for the biggest screens available. Those choices are reflected in the numbers: Imax accounted for more than a quarter of the film's global gross, a share most releases never approach.
The R rating — restricting attendance to those 17 and older unless accompanied by an adult in the United States — means the film cleared $1 billion without a significant slice of the family audience that typically powers blockbusters past that threshold. Only Joker and now The Odyssey have done it.
