Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Reaches 1 Million Ticket Sales in 24 Hours

Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey has broken pre-sale records across the Atlantic, raking in over $1 million in ticket sales from its opening day alone at the BFI IMAX, and it’s well over a month before the film’s release date of July 17, 2026, as reported by Variety on June 16, 2026. The numbers make the Homer adaptation the most anticipated release in recent history, with demand so great that ticketing sites crashed and fans were selling individual tickets through sites like eBay for up to $1,500.

[Note: All figures reported are accurate as of June 17, 2026.]

The Odyssey Breaks BFI IMAX Record

The opening number of The Odyssey in the United Kingdom comes from the BFI IMAX in central London (the biggest screen in the UK), which, in the first 24 hours of tickets being available for sale, experienced sales of 28,000 tickets and a gross of £750,000 ($1 million approx.). That far exceeds the previous opening one-day record, which was Dune: Part Two, with a gross of £366,000 ($490,000 approx.), in the same 24 hours.

More than that, it exceeds Nolan’s previous record at the venue, Oppenheimer, which grossed £254,000 (approximately $340,000) in its first 24 hours at the BFI IMAX, meaning The Odyssey has not doubled but almost quadrupled that number in ticket sales. Four screenings of the film on the opening weekend already had no tickets available under an hour in, including a midnight show that was opening a 24/7 schedule at the venue.

The aforementioned Variety report also revealed that the US launched with equally spectacular momentum. A year before release, premium large format tickets went on sale in 2025; roughly 150,000 tickets were sold and $3.4 million generated in just 24 hours, the highest single-day presale total in four years. The demand crashed most ticketing systems, with reports of website outages and wait times over an hour.

The Odyssey is inspired by and adapted from Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem and follows Odysseus, lost at sea, returning home to Ithaca after fighting in Troy, working his way back to his wife.

Matt Damon takes the leading role, joined by a cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.

Another innovative achievement is that The Odyssey is a technically-advanced film, in general, the first feature film ever to be shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film, with cinematography directed by renowned Christopher Nolan team-member Hoyte van Hoytema. Its score is composed by Ludwig Göransson, with editing by Jennifer Lame. Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas are leading the production under their own company, Syncopy, and releasing it worldwide through Universal Pictures.

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The Odyssey will premiere on July 17, 2026.