About a month after its release, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has become the highest-grossing R-rated film at the global box office. The film has earned $1.352 billion from theatres worldwide, crossing the collection of the previous record holder, Deadpool and Wolverine.
Based on Homer's eponymous poem, The Odyssey follows the titular King of Ithaca (Matt Damon) as he takes a treacherous journey back home following the Trojan War. The ten-year-long journey tests the endurance of both Odysseus and his men, while teaching them harsh lessons about the futility of war.
Nolan's film also stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Jon Bernthal, Samantha Morton, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and John Leguizamo, among others.
There has been some criticism for the film, especially from admirers of the source material. According to them, Nolan's adaptation goes away from the essence of the poem, portraying Odysseus as an antihero struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder rather than as a war hero. However, the majority of the audience is an admirer of the film, ranking it among Nolan's best works.
The Odyssey is the first major studio production to be completely shot with IMAX cameras. IMAX acknowledged the film's box office achievement on Thursday with a special poster communicating the same. It remains to be seen how long the film will hold on to the record. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed more than Nolan's film worldwide but is only PG-13 rated. Meanwhile, the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday is yet to receive an official censorship rating, although the reported presence of Deadpool in it causes fans to speculate about a potential R rating for it. However, it is worth noting that no Avengers film has an R rating. Deadpool and Wolverine is the only R-rated film to come out of Marvel Studios.
