The Odyssey becomes top foreign film ever in Korea

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has passed Avatar: The Way of Water to become the highest-grossing international release in Korean box office history in local-currency terms, Variety reported on Oct. 11.

The film had earned KRW139.2 billion ($101.5 million) in Korea as of Oct. 11, according to the same report. That makes it the top Hollywood title ever in the market. Twelve million tickets. That is about 24% of the country's population.

The all-time chart in Korea is still led by local titles. The King's Warden holds the overall record with KRW153.2 billion ($111.7 million) in 2026, Variety reported. The 2019 comedy Extreme Job, with KRW139.6 billion ($101.8 million), sits just ahead of The Odyssey.

Admissions, or tickets sold, tell the scale of the run. No other international film passed 10 million admissions in Korea in 2026 besides The Odyssey, Variety reported. The film held No. 1 at the Korean box office for seven straight weekends, the longest such streak for an international title.

It is now Nolan's biggest film in Korea and Universal's biggest title in Korea, Variety reported. The run has been driven by large-format screens. No film released in Korea has drawn more admissions on Imax and Dolby Cinema screens, and the film still held Imax screens in its 10th week after setting Korea's Imax record.

Imax shows sold out continuously through the fifth week, the longest run of sellouts on record, Variety reported. The film crossed 10 million admissions in 33 days, faster than any non-franchise international title. It was the first international film with a 15+ rating to reach 10 million admissions, and the first August release of any kind to do so.

Nolan is the first director with two non-franchise international films above 10 million admissions in Korea, Variety reported. Advance demand was strong from the start. The film posted the year's highest advance ticket sales in Korea and led presales for 43 consecutive days through Sept. 14, the longest run in 2026.

The promotional tour drew a heavy response. The Seoul press conference drew 209 media members, the biggest turnout for a promotional tour since the pandemic, Variety reported. A Korea premiere event hosted by exhibitor CGV drew 32,411 applications, a 463-to-1 ratio and the highest participation CGV has recorded for a Korea premiere. Voluntary influencer and YouTuber posts generated an estimated KRW1.27 billion (about $1 million) in earned media value, and sales of books linked to the film rose 30-fold after release.

Globally, the film reached $1.677 billion to become Universal Pictures' biggest film of all time, NBCUniversal announced on Sept. 12. That total counted $601.2 million in domestic box office, the United States and Canada, and $1.083 billion internationally, Deadline reported on Sept. 12. Universal later said the film had hit $1.7 billion worldwide as the studio became the first to reach $5 billion globally in 2026, Comcast said on Sept. 25.

For moviegoers in Korea, the run has been hard to miss, from sold-out premium screens to full presale charts. The film it passed, Avatar: The Way of Water, topped $2 billion in global receipts, Reuters reported in January 2023. In Korea, that crown now belongs to The Odyssey.