Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Opens to $51 Million Friday
Nolan's new film earned $51 million on its opening day in North America, positioning it for a potential $100-plus million weekend as it leads the Friday box-office.
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" generated $51 million on Friday from 3,919 North American screens, according to early box-office reports. The strong start has analysts revising the weekend forecast upward, with estimates now ranging from $100 million to $120 million. A $120 million opening would make it Nolan's most successful debut since 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises," which opened to $160 million.
The film, a modern adaptation of Homer's epic, stars Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside an ensemble cast that includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page, Jon Bernthal and John Leguizamo. Its production budget is reported at $250 million.
Disney's live-action "Moana" debuted at No. 2 on Friday with $5.5 million and is projected to earn about $19 million by Sunday, a decline of roughly 56% from its opening weekend. Variety noted that, given its $250 million budget, the film could result in a loss of about $100 million for Disney if box-office performance does not improve.
Universal's "Minions & Monsters" placed third on Friday with $4.3 million and is expected to reach $14 million by the end of the weekend. The animated title, produced for $85 million, is on track to become profitable with modest additional earnings.
Rounding out the Friday top five were "Toy Story 5" with $4.2 million and "Evil Dead Burn" with $1.4 million. "Toy Story 5" is projected to total around $13.8 million for the weekend, while "Evil Dead Burn" may finish with roughly $4.7 million.