'The Odyssey' tops 10 million admissions in 33 days, sets first-ever record for a non-franchise film as Nolan becomes Korea's first director with two 10-million hits

Four years after 'Avatar' returns, a new milestone for non-franchise foreign films

' The Odyssey'—a masterpiece from director Christopher Nolan—has made box-office history, surpassing 10 million admissions 33 days after its release.

Distributor Universal Pictures said on the 6th that the feature crossed the 10 million mark at 4 p.m. It is the second mega-hit among films released this year, following director Jang Hang-jun's 'The Man Who Lives with the King'.

Among foreign tentpole films, it is the 10th to surpass 10 million admissions, four years after 2022's 'Avatar: The Way of Water'. More significantly, Christopher Nolan is the 'first ever' foreign director to produce two 10-million-admission films—'Interstellar' and 'The Odyssey'—from standalone fictional worlds rather than a franchise series.

Its pace has also been extraordinary. After reaching 1 million admissions on its fourth day, the film surpassed 8 million on its 24th day and set the rare record of ranking No. 1 at the box office for 33 consecutive days.

A 172-minute visual revolution opens the era of the 2 trillion won global box office

' The Odyssey', which brings Homer's ancient epic to the screen, vividly depicts the 20-year odyssey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. An ensemble led by Matt Damon and featuring top-tier Hollywood actors including Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Charlize Theron heightened audiences' immersion.

The film's decisive box-office driver has been the 'premium-format viewing' craze. The first film in history to shoot its entire 172-minute runtime with IMAX film cameras, it delivered a visual spectacle. As a result, it has drawn more than 1.102 million viewers to IMAX theaters in South Korea, easily surpassing the previous No. 1, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' with more than 929,000 viewers.

The phenomenon is global. With worldwide box-office revenue surpassing $1.564 billion—about 2.1 trillion won—the film has overtaken the $1.085 billion earned by Nolan's previous top-grossing film, 'The Dark Knight Rises'.

Nolan's personal appeal appears to have resonated fully with audiences after he visited South Korea with Matt Damon and Charlize Theron before the release to encourage people to see the film in theaters. The Odyssey is expected to soon overtake the 10.27 million admissions recorded by 'Interstellar' and become Nolan's highest-grossing film in South Korea.