Box Office: ‘The Odyssey’ Holds Strong With $25 Million on Friday

With no major competition, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” extended its reign at the domestic box office as it entered its second weekend in theaters.

“The Odyssey” added $25.9 million domestically on Friday, and by Sunday, it’s expected to make $84.5 million. That figure represents just a 32% drop from its excellent $124 million debut. Through two weekends of release, “The Odyssey’s” North American total should land around $283 million.

Over opening weekend, “The Odyssey” earned $264.1 million worldwide, an outstanding feat considering it’s an adult-skewing drama that clocks in at almost three hours. That godly haul was Nolan’s best global debut ever, legging out “The Dark Knight Rises,” which eared $249 million back in 2012. That film also happens to be the director’s highest-grossing film ever, at just over a $1 billion. At this pace, “The Odyssey” is gunning for that record as well.

Second place went to the theatrical presentation of “Hadestown: The Musical.” The eight-time Tony winner pulled in an estimated $4 million on Friday. Rival projections have it earning $9 million through the weekend. Starring Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Patrick Page, André De Shields and Amber Gray, “Hadestown” is a musical retelling of the Orpheus-Eurydice and Hades-Persephone myths. Crosswalk served as the distributor for the movie.

Disney’s live-action “Moana” took third with just $3.1 million domestically on Friday. Through its third weekend, “Moana” is eyeing an estimated $10.8 million, which would push its domestic haul to $102 million. It’s a disappointing result considering the film carries a $250 million price tag, and it could end up costing Disney $100 million. Summer 2026 has been up-and-down for the Mouse House. While they’ve scored with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” ($688 million) and “Toy Story 5,” underperformers like “Moana” and “The Mandalorian and Grogu” ($340 million against a $165 million budget) have proved costly.

“Toy Story 5” slotted at No. 4 with $2.9 million domestically on Friday. By Sunday, it should make $10.1 million, according to rival estimates. That would push the legacy sequel’s domestic total to a stellar $448.6 million through six weekends of release. “Toy Story 5” is expected to cross the $1 billion mark any day now and overtake “Toy Story 4” ($1.07 billion) as the franchise’s highest earner.

Fifth place went to “Minions & Monsters,” which added $2.8 million domestically on Friday. Through its fourth weekend of release, the animated adventure should gross $9.5 million, pushing its North American gains to about $155 million. Despite being a relatively low earner compared to franchise favorites like 2015’s “Minions” ($1.15 billion worldwide) and 2022’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($940 million worldwide), “Minions & Monsters” is holding strong, dropping just 30% from last week’s total. The film only cost $85 million, so it’s already a modest hit for Universal.