'The Odyssey' delivers one of the biggest openings ever for a Christopher Nolan movie in the Philippines

Never doubt Christopher Nolan.

(C) Universal

The statement rings true as Christopher Nolan's latest epic, The Odyssey, opened to a strong $1.363 million (est. ₱84 million) in the Philippines, marking one of the highest openings ever for the acclaimed director in the country. The film surpassed the opening of his most recent release, Oppenheimer ($1 million), was also likely bolstered by the Barbenheimer phenomenon. It's also now Universal Pictures' highest opening of the year so far in the country, surpassing the likes of Minions & Monsters and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

When we talk about the films that need to be experienced on the big screen, Christopher Nolan's filmography is often among the first that comes to mind. Filipinos seemed to get the memo as well. As the first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, The Odyssey drew moviegoers to IMAX auditoriums across the country. Multiple sold-out screenings were reported throughout the week, particularly at major venues such as SM Mall of Asia and SM North EDSA. Demand has been so strong that even many of the best seats for next week's screenings are already nearly sold out at those locations. 

Following Moana's $1.235 million opening last week, The Odyssey has helped sustain the strong box office momentum currently being seen in the Philippines. There is also plenty more to come, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day posting phenomenal advance ticket sales, Cinemalaya 2026 beginning to build momentum, and Insidious: Out of the Further set to close out Hollywood's summer slate.

Next week also sees the theatrical release of Ang Babaeng Walang Pakiramdam, a move likely timed to capitalize on the recent success of Love, Ngo, along with a handful of smaller releases such as I, Object and the re-release of Leviticus. No surprises here as the industry braces for the arrival of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Speaking of Moana, Filipinos do really love the character. The live-action adaptation added $729K (est. ₱45 million) this week, down a very good 41 percent. In two weeks, it has now collected $2.145 million (est. ₱132 million) in the country. Toy Story 5, is also holding on, grossing $181K this week for a five-week total of $5.233 million.

In other releases, Box Office Mojo has reported that the Hong Kong action film The Furious has made over $38K (est. ₱2.3 million) in the country while Amazon MGM's Masters of the Universe (distributed by Columbia) has collected $438K (est. ₱27 million) in total. 

This article will be updated as more box office figures are released.