Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Stole A Major Box Office Record From Deadpool & Wolverine

Universal Pictures

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has cemented its legacy in the annals of cinema history. Not only because it's been hailed as one of the filmmaker's very best movies, but also because it now holds an impressive box office record — one that Nolan stole from one of the biggest Marvel blockbusters of the 2020s. "Deadpool & Wolverine" was the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever. No longer.

As of this writing, "The Odyssey" has made $1.34 billion globally. That puts it just about the lifetime gross of 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine," which was hugely profitable for Marvel, pulling in $1.33 billion worldwide, including $636.7 million domestically and $701.3 million internationally. Nolan's latest now holds the title as the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history.

This doesn't take anything away from director Shawn Levy's entry in the "Deadpool" franchise. It was the second-highest-grossing movie of 2024 overall, trailing only Pixar's monster hit "Inside Out 2" ($1.69 billion). "Deadpool & Wolverine" is also the biggest "X-Men" movie ever at the box office. That's going to be a challenging record for Marvel's forthcoming "X-Men" reboot to break. It's also the highest-grossing non-"Spider-Man" movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.79 billion). In short, it's still a monster hit. Star Ryan Reynolds even shared his own congratulations on social media:

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Odyssey for becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. That is one helluva car. pic.twitter.com/s7QzTza21l

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 19, 2026

But there's a new king in town, and Mr. Christopher Nolan, whose adaptation of Homer's epic has become a true global phenomenon, is wearing the crown. "The Odyssey" has been ruling the box office since it hit theaters in July. Released by Universal Pictures with a whopping $250 million budget, it's also one of the most expensive R-rated movies ever made. Even so, it proved to be money well spent.

Marvel Studios

This is just the latest feather in Christopher Nolan's cap as it relates to "The Odyssey." Thanks to the movie's success, he's now the third-highest-grossing director ever, overtaking Joe and Anthony Russo, who made their hay directing Marvel blockbusters like "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Endgame." What's most impressive about that is Nolan has made most of his money with non-franchise movies such as "Inception" or "Oppenheimer," which also went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars.

Yes, Nolan has "The Dark Knight" trilogy, but even that is now less of a factor in his wildly impressive list of accomplishments as one of cinema's most reliably commercial filmmakers. "The Dark Knight Rises" ($1.08 billion) is no longer Nolan's biggest box office hit, with "The Odyssey" overtaking it, not accounting for inflation.

The fact of the matter is that Nolan has asserted himself as the most popular director on the planet. Beyond that, his movies are widely respected and regularly garner awards-season attention. There is nobody doing what he's doing at this scale. The fact that "The Odyssey" is going to wind up with at least $1.5 billion, give or take, when all's said and done, is staggering, joining movies like "The Avengers" and "Top Gun: Maverick" on the all-time chart.

It's not so much that audiences were revved up to see Matt Damon as Odysseus or Anne Hathaway as Penelope. That doesn't hurt, but audiences turned up to see this epic tale because Nolan was the guy telling it. That's what propelled "Oppenheimer" to nearly $1 billion globally as well. Whatever he does next, he's earned the trust of moviegoers around the world. They will show up in droves.

"The Odyssey" is in theaters now.