Christopher Nolan‘s ‘The Odyssey’ has lived up to its massive pre-release buzz, registering a strong opening at the Indian box office.
The film starring Matt Damon in the lead, matched the pre-release box office expectations to score a Rs 20 crore opening in India. Despite its Adults Only (A) certification, the film still managed to emerge as one of the biggest Hollywood openers of the year.
‘The Odyssey’ box office collection
According to early estimates on sacnilk, ‘The Odyssey’ grossed Rs 20.76 crore on Day 1, with net collections standing at Rs 17.40 crore after playing across 8,413 shows nationwide. The film recorded an impressive overall occupancy of 48.7 per cent, propelled by demand for premium formats, particularly IMAX screenings.
‘The Odyssey’ English version leads collections
The film had a wide release in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, however, it was the original English version that accounted for the larger share of the collections.Early language-wise estimates suggest that the film’s original English version emerged as the clear frontrunner, contributing an estimated Rs 13.75 crore net to the film’s opening-day haul. The Hindi-dubbed version followed with approximately Rs 1.90 crore, while the Telugu version earned around Rs 1.10 crore and the Tamil version added an estimated Rs 65 lakh.
‘The Odyssey’ occupancy
The English release also witnessed the strongest audience turnout, recording nearly 70 per cent occupancy across 2,113 shows. In comparison, the Hindi version registered around 10 per cent occupancy from 1,468 shows, while the Tamil and Telugu versions reported healthier occupancies of 22 per cent across 227 shows and 25 per cent across 346 shows, respectively.
IMAX shows boosts opening-day numbers
As expected from a Christopher Nolan release, premium large-format screenings proved to be a major draw. The film’s English IMAX 2D shows recorded an impressive 73.86 per cent occupancy.
‘The Odyssey’ among biggest Hollywood openers in India
With an estimated Rs 17.40 crore net opening, ‘The Odyssey’ comfortably joins the list of the biggest Hollywood launches in India. The film currently trails ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ which earned approximately Rs 18 crore net and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ which earned an estimated Rs 21 crore net.However, trade analysts note that the final Day 1 figures could still see a higher overall total with the film expected to edge closer to the Rs 20 crore net mark if late-night shows and revised estimates are factored in. The opening is particularly notable given the film’s A certificate.
‘The Odyssey’ records strong pre-sales
The film also benefited from exceptional advance bookings.With around 396,000 tickets sold in advance, The Odyssey ranks among the top four Hollywood pre-sales in India, behind ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (505K), ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ (474K), ‘The Conjuring’ (443K). It has also surpassed ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ (248K).
Film eyes blockbuster debut at global box office
‘The Odyssey’ is also off to a flying start internationally. According to early projections on Deadline, the film is expected to earn around USD 50 million from Friday and preview screenings in North America, setting the stage for a USD 117 million three-day domestic opening.If those estimates hold, the film will deliver Matt Damon’s biggest opening weekend as a leading star and will also become the highest opening weekend for a live-action film in North America this year. The film will also become the biggest opening weekend for an R-rated film of the year, surpassing ‘Backrooms’ (USD 81.4 million).The film is already Universal Pictures’ biggest opening weekend ever for an R-rated title, overtaking even ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (USD 85.1 million).