Nolan’s The Odyssey Becomes BFI IMAX’S Biggest Film

Christopher Nolan’s thirteenth feature film, The Odyssey, has officially become the biggest film of all time at the British Film Institute’s IMAX. Based on Homer’s Epic poem of the same title, Nolan’s The Odyssey stars Matt Damon in the central role of the warrior Odysseus as he traces back the story of his grand adventure home to Ithaca following triumph in the Trojan War, not knowing the further trials he will face once he returns to his kingdom.

Tom Holland, Himesh Patel, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron additionally appear as the film’s star-studded assembled cast.

Thanks to an estimated budget of $250 million, The Odyssey is positioned as one of Nolan’s most expensive releases, aligned with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises and 2020’s Tenet, alongside being the first feature film shot completely using IMAX’s 70 mm film cameras, meaning an even larger picture area and high performance.

From this presentation hook, the British Film Institute has now reported that Nolan’s Greek epic poem adaptation has seen over 101,000 admissions at its IMAX screen. There are additional reports of a contribution of £2,683,987 in ticket sales to the film’s global box office gross of $1.297 billion (the second highest-grossing release of 2026 so far), obtained from US ticket sales of $505 million and international ones of $792 million, meaning the BFI’s IMAX has contributed 0.280% to The Odyssey’s gross.

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Additionally, the BFI has “achieved a 95% occupancy rate across all showtimes currently on sale,” when it comes to the mythological/historical adventure.  Success was destined for the BFI and The Odyssey, as June-based pre-sales saw 28,000 tickets for the film sold within the first 24 hours, accumulating £750,000 in revenue and smashing records for the BFI before the film was fully released.  July also saw the BFI IMAX stand as the top IMAX venue in the UK and overseas markets for The Odyssey’s debut weekend, reaching £219,867 in ticket sales over the opening three days, positioning Nolan’s film number one in opening weekend box office lists for the BFI IMAX.

“As the only cinema in the UK to hold a complete archive of Christopher Nolan’s IMAX 70mm filmography, now including The Odyssey, we are proud to be the home of Christopher Nolan on film,” BFI IMAX Programme Manager Madeleine Mullett stated. “Across the BFI, our commitment to preserving and celebrating celluloid, alongside the filmmakers who continue to champion this format, speaks to the enduring power of storytelling and the unique communal experience of seeing film on film.”

“The extraordinary demand for our IMAX 70mm presentation of The Odyssey, experienced as intended by the filmmakers, is ultimate proof of the appetite audiences have for cinema at its most authentic,” she added.

Nolan’s The Odyssey now sits as the BFI’s highest-grossing film.

BFI IMAX’s Ten Highest-Grossing Films

1. The Odyssey (Christopher Nolan, 2026)
2. Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
3. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
5. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
6. The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
7. Dune: Part II (Denis Villeneuve, 2024)
8. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
9. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014)
10. Avatar: The Way of the Water (James Cameron, 2022)

The BFI IMAX screen is located at 1 Charlie Chaplin Walk, London. 

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Ros Tibbs

Editor

Ros is a film and lit graduate writing news and reviews at The People's Magazine. She also writes long-form film theory, film history, analytical or curated recommendations pieces on other platforms.

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