The Odyssey becomes Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing movie

The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing movie of Christopher Nolan's career.

The director's adaptation of Homer's Greek epic, which was released in cinemas on 17 July, hit the $1 billion (£741 million) mark at the global box office on Friday, less than a month after its release.

Over the weekend, its fourth weekend in cinemas, its worldwide total reached $1.1 billion (£815 million), making it his highest-grossing movie ever.

Thanks to its latest haul, The Odyssey surged ahead of Nolan's previous record-holder, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, which achieved $1.085 billion (£804 million) at the global box office.

Its 2008 predecessor, The Dark Knight, grossed $1.005 billion (£744 million), while Nolan's previous film, Oppenheimer, is now his fourth-highest-grossing movie, with $975.8 million (£723 million) worldwide.

According to Deadline, the acclaimed director's movies - which also include Inception, Interstellar and Oppenheimer - have collectively grossed over $7 billion (£5.1 billion) worldwide.

The Odyssey is also the highest-grossing movie of Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson's careers, the highest-grossing R-rated movie of 2026, and the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time after 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine.

Only five films have crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office so far this year - The Odyssey, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, Toy Story 5 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The latest Spider-Man movie, starring Tom Holland, crossed that milestone in only six days earlier this month and is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2026 so far, with more than $1.26 billion (£933 million).