NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d<\/a> launched with an estimated $124.5 million in domestic ticket sales and another $139.6 million from overseas, notching an even better debut than \u201cOppenheimer\u201d<\/a> and marking the filmmaker\u2019s best opening since 2012\u2019s \u201cThe Dark Knight Rises.\u201d<\/p>\n Nolan flexed his singular box-office might with a global debut unlike any other. Few filmmakers alive could pull off a starry, big-budget adaptation of Homer\u2019s epic poem<\/a>. But in a Hollywood where intellectual property rights rule most hits, Nolan turned one of the world\u2019s oldest works of literature<\/a> into an unlikely summer blockbuster.<\/p>\n The Universal production was no small gamble on Nolan, coming off the 2023 best picture-winning \u201cOppenheimer.\u201d<\/a> With a production budget of $250 million, it\u2019s among the most expensive R-rated movies ever made. Universal is spending some $125 million to market it.<\/p>\n But no behind-the-camera name turns out audiences more than Nolan’s. So great was the hype on \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d that IMAX put tickets on sale for some 70 mm showtimes a full year in advance. To satisfy the extraordinary demand for Nolan’s preferred format, IMAX 70 mm, some theaters added midnight and 3 a.m. screenings \u2014 and sold them out.<\/p>\n Billed as Nolan\u2019s first feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the format drove a huge slice of ticket sales. That included $29.6 million domestically on IMAX and $51.8 million globally, leading to the company’s best weekend ever. IMAX is dedicating its screens entirely to \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d for three weeks. Though only 41 IMAX screens can screen \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d in 70 mm, they accounted for $6.3 million in ticket sales.<\/p>\n Since the pandemic, Nolan has been at the forefront of reviving cinemas. His \u201cTenet\u201d<\/a> was one of the first big releases to wade back into theaters in 2020. Three years later, \u201cOppenheimer\u201d and Greta Gerwig\u2019s \u201cBarbie\u201d combined to create arguably the movies\u2019 signature moment of the decade<\/a>. \u201cOppenheimer\u201d ultimately grossed $975 million worldwide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d arrived in theaters during Hollywood\u2019s best summer since 2019. Ticket sales are running about 10% ahead of last year, according to Rentrak. The industry is expecting the first $10 billion year at the domestic box office since the pandemic.<\/p>\n The only question for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d will be how front-loaded it is, given that many moviegoers have had this weekend circled for months. The film faced no new-release competition over the weekend, and it won\u2019t next weekend, either. IMAX said that presales for the movie’s second weekend would rank among their 10 best presales, proof that many moviegoers are waiting to see the film in their preferred format.<\/p>\n The next movie to pose any competition, ironically, also stars Tom Holland and Zendaya: Sony\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day\u201d on July 31.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and features Holland as his son, Telemachus; Anne Hathaway as Penelope; Zendaya as Athena; Robert Pattinson as the suitor Antinous and Charlize Theron as the sea nymph Calypso.<\/p>\n Nolan\u2019s casting of \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d including Lupita Nyong\u2019o as Helen and Elliot Page as a soldier, was controversial to some conservative commentators. Elon Musk called Nolan a \u201ccoward\u201d over Nyong\u2019o\u2019s casting.<\/p>\n