The Odyssey has now made over US$600 million globally since its release

As with last weekend, much of that sum is from premium large format screens. IMAX screens alone accounted for US$48 million of the global earnings this weekend. The coveted 70mm IMAX screens, of which there are only 41 worldwide, earned US$5.2 million. Most of those showtimes are sold out through September, the company said.

There was no significant new competition this weekend or last. Regardless, the second weekend earnings is rare for a movie that opened over US$100 million. For an R-rated movie, it’s second only to Deadpool & Wolverine.

But the open waters will become a little more crowded next weekend when audiences get another blockbuster option with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which shares actors Tom Holland and Zendaya with The Odyssey. Some analysts say that Spider-Man could net the biggest opening weekend of the year. Still, Nolan’s film will have its run of most IMAX screens for weeks to come.

Second and third place went to Disney releases, Moana, with US$10.5 million, and Toy Story 5 close behind with US$10 million. The latter surpassed US$1 billion in its fifth weekend, with US$448 million from North American theatres and US$573 million from international screens. It’s the sixth Pixar film to hit the milestone.

Bleecker Street’s release of Hadestown: The Musical, a live stage recording of the show, rounded out the top five with US$9.7 million in its first weekend. The hit Broadway show uses folk and jazz to tell an ancient Greek tale.

Olivia Wilde’s chamber dramedy The Invite also continues to do well in its platform release, with another US$2.6 million that brings its running total to US$19.8 million.

The year overall is running about 10 per cent ahead of last year, and the summer box office this weekend surpassed US$3 billion. Before the pandemic, the summer movie season would regularly exceed US$4 billion. The only other time it has since was the Barbenheimer in 2023. Dergarabedian is cautiously optimistic that it could be within reach this summer too.

“That’s a pretty heavy lift for August, but this could be a mega August given the staying power of The Odyssey coupled with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he said. “For The Odyssey it’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon run that’ll play well into August.”