Every Hollywood studio wants its own Christopher Nolan. This weekend showed why.

"The Odyssey," written and directed by Nolan, opened to an estimated $264.1 million worldwide. Domestically, its $124.5 million debut was the third biggest for any film this year, behind the animated sequels "Toy Story 5" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie."

Its opening was higher than many 2026 releases based on more current intellectual property, like "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Supergirl" and "Scream 7."

Nolan's brand power and commercial track record got Comcast's Universal Pictures to say yes to a roughly $250 million, R-rated adaptation of an ancient Greek poem shot across Europe with largely practical visual effects, including a 35-foot tall Trojan Horse.

According to data from research from Rentrak provided by Universal, 53% of "The Odyssey" attendees said the director was their No. 1 reason for attending.

"It's not often you see that," said Universal president of domestic distribution Jim Orr. "Chris Nolan has earned the audience's trust and respect."

In the late 2000s and 2010s, franchises dominated the movie industry. Studios hired directors who could pump out sequels, spinoffs and remakes as efficiently as possible. Nolan was the most successful and prolific among a tiny number of filmmakers who still called their own shots. Along with the hugely successful Dark Knight trilogy, he made hit original movies like "Inception" and "Interstellar."

But Marvel, Fast & Furious and Transformers have all stumbled at the box office recently, as audiences have grown tired of them. Gen Z in particular appears skeptical of the industry's reliance on aging brands and technology-driven filmmaking. They're more drawn to stories told by an authentic, recognizable filmmaker with a point of view, like Curry Barker, director of the surprise horror blockbuster "Obsession." That film was one of several new-to-the-big-screen, director-driven hits this year, including "Project Hail Mary" and "Backrooms."

In response, studios that used to obsess over franchise management are devoting more energy to signing the most promising filmmakers. Those creators are getting seven- and eight-figure paydays to bring valuable brands to the big screen and increased budgets for original ideas.

"Studios are lost as far as knowing what works and what doesn't," said Bryan Lourd, chief executive of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency. "Things have generationally changed and individual, singular voices are taking advantage."

Warner Bros. gave "Black Panther" and "Creed" director Ryan Coogler an unusually generous deal for the rights to make his original horror movie "Sinners," which became a hit last year. "Weapons" director Zach Cregger is helming an adaptation of the videogame "Resident Evil" for Sony Pictures this fall and was part of a recent multimillion-dollar deal Warner made for a new horror property. "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig used her clout to convince Netflix to make her adaptation of "The Chronicles of Narnia" its first global theatrical release next year.

Nolan was chased by numerous studios after he left his longtime home Warner Bros. following a disappointing release for his "Tenet" during the pandemic and the company's decision to put all its 2021 movies on streaming and in theaters simultaneously.

His new backer Universal not only gives him near-total autonomy, but sacrifices potential home-entertainment revenue by giving his movies an extraordinarily long amount of time exclusively in theaters. His first movie for Universal, 2023's "Oppenheimer," became available to watch at home 120 days after it came out. The industry standard is 45 days.

"Oppenheimer" grossed a phenomenal $976 million and won seven Oscars including best picture and director.

Like most of Nolan's movies, "The Odyssey" benefited from sold-out showings in IMAX theaters, which carry a higher ticket price. Nolan shot the entire film to fill IMAX's large-format screens and they generated nearly 20% of the global gross, despite representing less than 1% of all auditoriums.

Premium screens of all types in the U.S. and Canada accounted for 45% of tickets sold, according to research firm EntTelligence.

Based on overwhelmingly positive reviews and an average audience grade of A according to research firm CinemaScore, "The Odyssey," could become Nolan's first movie to gross more than $1 billion globally since "The Dark Knight Rises" in 2012.

Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2026 13:31 ET (17:31 GMT)

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