In today’s episode of the “Daily Variety” podcast, in our Box Office segment, VarietyRebecca Rubin breaks down the spectacular $264 million world premiere of Universal Pictures’ “The Odyssey.” It couldn’t have come at a better time for Imax, the large-format exhibitor that delivered more than 50% of opening weekend revenue.

Anticipation for Nolan’s follow-up to 2023’s “Oppenheimer” was so strong that there was little doubt the $250 million production would open with a bang. But the final numbers demonstrate how strongly “The Odyssey” was able to mobilize audiences around the world.

“What’s most impressive is the fact that this movie had a huge opening weekend for an R-rated sword-and-sandals epic. Christopher Nolan is really the only director who could pull off something like this with the budget he did and justify the studio’s expense,” Rubin says. “He’s really established himself as a brand at the box office, and he’s one of the very, very rare directors today who can get people to go to the movies just because he’s releasing a new movie. It doesn’t even matter what the genre is, what kind of movie it is. People just want to see whatever he’s doing next.”

Rubin notes that the opening weekend audience was about 55% male, and a large portion of the crowd was on the younger side for this genre of film.

“People have been joking that it’s the quintessential dad movie,” Rubin says. “But what was quite significant to me is that 50% of the audience was between 18 and 34, which means it really managed to appeal to younger audiences. If this were in the hands of a different director, I think it could be a much older movie. I love Matt Damon, he’s more of a Generation X star. A lot of the cast are millennials, so they may not have captured that younger audience. But [Nolan] It really encouraged all audiences to go. That’s the difference between having a decent opening weekend and a phenomenal opening weekend: it was able to reach all ages. I think it will really help the movie in the coming weeks.”

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