The First Film Ever Shot on IMAX Cameras Has Surpassed $1 Billion at the Box Office

Matt Damon as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’

The first feature film ever to be shot entirely on IMAX cameras, The Odyssey, has surpassed $1 billion at the box office — a remarkable achievement for an R-rated movie.

Christopher Nolan’s version of Homer’s epic poem has wowed audiences across the world and surpassed the $1 billion milestone at the global box office this past weekend. Total sales currently stand at $1.1 billion.

It is also IMAX’s highest-grossing release of all time, with the large screen theaters raking in $289 million, surpassing Avatar (2009). Theaters showing the film in 70mm, Nolan’s preferred format, have grossed $37.5 million from just 41 locations across the world.

While Nolan is arguably the world’s most influential director and The Odyssey is a pillar of the Western literary canon, the film’s status as the first movie ever shot entirely on large-format 70mm IMAX cameras — among the highest-resolution film cameras ever made and capable of capturing an extraordinary level of detail — has undoubtedly contributed to its success.

It marks Nolan’s highest-grossing movie ever, beating his previous best effort, The Dark Knight Rises (2012), which grossed $1.085 billion.

Deadline notes that The Odyssey achieved its impressive numbers in four weeks, grossing $461.1 million domestically and $643.6 million in international markets.

The Odyssey is the highest-grossing R-rated movie of 2026 and the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time; Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) tops the list at $1.33 billion. It’s also the highest-grossing film for three of The Odyssey’s stars: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson.

While these numbers are impressive, it’s not over yet. The Odyssey is still showing in theaters and many 70mm showings are sold out through September.

“A singular filmmaker with the international following of Christopher Nolan is uniquely fit to adapt Homer’s ancient poem, which is one of the most influential and well-known stories in the world,” says Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, Universal’s president of international distribution, per Variety. “The Odyssey is a global epic that has resonated with audiences everywhere with its massive scope and uncompromising vision.”

While it’s a huge win for the art of filmmaking — Nolan eschews CGI, preferring to shoot everything in-camera — not everyone will be happy about the film’s success. The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has repeatedly criticized Nolan for choosing actress Lupita Nyong’o to play Helen of Troy, claiming the British director had “lost his integrity” for making a diverse casting choice.

Musk says he will make his own version of The Odyssey using Grok, xAI’s AI image generator.

Image creditsUniversal Pictures