The Odyssey surpasses 8.47 million, eyeing 10 million milestone

Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has overtaken "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" to become the highest-grossing foreign film released in 2026. As it continues to dominate both the box office and reservation rates even in its fourth week of release, the possibility of it becoming the first foreign film this year to surpass 10 million viewers is gaining momentum.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated computer network for film ticket sales, "The Odyssey" recorded a cumulative audience of 8,471,082 as of 6:50 AM on the 30th. This figure surpasses the 8,454,121 cumulative viewers of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which had been leading the foreign film box office this year.

The gap was also prominent in daily audience mobilization. On the 29th, "The Odyssey" drew 453,557 people to theaters, maintaining its number one spot in the overall box office. This is approximately four times the scale of the second-place "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which drew 109,712 people.

Previously, "The Odyssey" surpassed 8 million viewers just 24 days after its release on the 28th. This record is two days faster than "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which surpassed 8 million viewers on its 26th day of release. By setting the record for the fastest 8 million milestone among this year's releases, it has outpaced its competitors in terms of box office speed.

The sustainability of its success is also noteworthy. "The Odyssey" maintained the number one spot in overall reservation rates for 28 consecutive days from the 3rd (two days before its release) to the 30th, and has held the top of the box office for 25 consecutive days since its opening. Unlike typical blockbusters where audiences concentrate in a short period and then rapidly dissipate, this indicates that demand is being maintained well into the latter half of its run.

The factors driving this long-term success do not lie solely in famous actors or massive production budgets. Analysts suggest that Nolan's signature grand scale, complex narrative structure, and visual aesthetics that emphasize practical filming provide audiences with the motivation to watch it in theaters. In particular, the strength is cited as the way the film reconstructs mythical origins into a modern cinematic language, prompting audiences not to stop at consuming the story once, but to re-verify the background and symbols of the work.

In fact, online, short-form content and memes utilizing major characters and scenes, such as the "Odysseus Challenge," Circe, and Argos, are spreading. As more viewers seek out hidden details within the film or connections to ancient Greek mythology, a pattern of active "secondary consumption" following theater visits is emerging.

This aligns with important recent changes in film success. While in the past, audiences would finish their experience after watching a movie, the spread of social media and short-form platforms has created a structure where a single work is constantly reinterpreted and reproduced. In this environment, "The Odyssey" is stimulating the desire for audience participation by combining the ancient narrative of myth with modern blockbuster grammar.

If this trend continues, there is a high possibility that the box office momentum will last through the Chuseok holiday. With the cumulative audience already exceeding 8.47 million, the distance remaining to reach 10 million viewers is approximately 1.53 million. Although there is the variable of competing with new highly anticipated releases during the Chuseok theater season, if its long-term box office power is maintained, the symbolic record of being the first foreign film this year to reach 10 million viewers emerges as a realistic goal.

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is expected to conclude its run with a cumulative total around 9 million, having recorded 8,454,121 viewers. It is also an interesting point in this year's theater scene that a franchise blockbuster, which showed strong box office power in the North American market, was overtaken in Korea by Nolan's new work. This can be interpreted as a result showing the unique credibility the Nolan brand holds among Korean audiences, going beyond a simple battle between a franchise and a non-franchise.

Third place was taken by "Gyeongju Trip," starring Lee Jung-eun, Gong Hyo-jin, Park So Dam, and Lee Yeon. It added 52,105 viewers on the 29th, recording a cumulative 147,901 viewers. With high audience evaluations such as a 93% Egg Index and a 9.23 Naver real viewer rating, attention is focused on the possibility of a "reverse run" through word-of-mouth, regardless of the initial audience scale.

Fourth place went to the Hollywood disaster film "The Last Day of Oak Street," starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, and fifth place went to the animation targeting family audiences, "Heartsping: Legend of the Whale Jewel."

"The Last Day of Oak Street" is being evaluated as a disaster film that families can enjoy together, but its buzz in Korea remains relatively limited. "Heartsping: Legend of the Whale Jewel" has recorded 818,725 cumulative viewers, steadily drawing in family audiences, though it is unlikely to reach the 1.24 million viewers seen in the previous installment.

Ultimately, the main focus of the 2026 summer box office has narrowed to whether "The Odyssey" can reach the 10 million mark. Having already surpassed "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," the film is now aiming for another milestone: long-term dominance. The Chuseok holiday will serve as a new testing ground to see how far Nolan's mythical narrative experiment can resonate with Korean audiences.

Among Nolan's films, "Interstellar" (2014) is the only one to have surpassed 10 million viewers in Korea, drawing 10.34 million people. Whether "The Odyssey" can break this record remains to be seen.