Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” has dominated the box office, achieving remarkable earnings. During its opening weekend, the film grossed $123 million domestically and over $263 million globally. This performance marks Nolan’s most successful global opening to date, exceeding the achievements of “The Dark Knight” series and “Oppenheimer.” Throughout the week, “The Odyssey” continued its strong run, collecting more than $18 million domestically on Monday and Wednesday, and over $21 million on Tuesday. Its global earnings surpassed $320 million within less than a week.
In contrast, other franchise films have faced challenges. Disney’s live-action “Moana,” featuring Dwayne Johnson, opened with a disappointing $43 million domestically, significantly lower than the $56 million opening for the animated version in 2016 and the $140 million opening for “Moana 2” in 2024. Reports indicate Disney could face a $100 million loss on the film, which had a production cost of around $250 million. So far, “Moana” has accumulated $186 million globally.
Similar struggles have been noted with “Supergirl,” which earned $37 million domestically on its opening weekend, and is expected to underperform at less than $150 million globally. This underwhelming performance contrasts sharply with last year’s “Superman,” which grossed over $600 million worldwide.
Other franchise endeavors, like “Minions & Monsters,” have also stumbled. It opened to $37 million domestically and has reached $366 million globally, marking it as the least successful “Despicable Me” installment. Its predecessor, “Despicable Me 4,” earned $75 million domestically and nearly $1 billion worldwide. Disney’s big-screen adaptation “The Mandalorian & Grogu” grossed $340 million globally, the lowest of any Star Wars film to date.
“Toy Story 5” opened with an amazing $159 million domestically and is projected to surpass $1 billion globally.
Several “original” films have found success. “Project Hail Mary” led by Ryan Gosling grossed $680 million, becoming Amazon Studios’ top-grossing film. The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” from Lionsgate earned over $1 billion worldwide, surpassing the earnings of “Hunger Games” and “Twilight” series. “Obsession,” a low-budget horror film, surprised the industry by grossing over $400 million globally, becoming Focus Features’ top film.
Another low-budget horror title, “Backrooms,” directed by Kane Parsons, debuted with $81 million and topped $360 million globally, setting a record for A24. The upcoming major release “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” faces high expectations after “Spider-Man: No Way Home” achieved $260 million domestically in its 2021 opening.
With franchise fatigue looming, including weariness toward superhero films, Marvel Studios hopes for a successful “Spider-Man” debut despite recent underwhelming performances of other Marvel titles.