Nolan's 'The Odyssey' hits 10 million mark, dominates for 5 weeks

Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is rewriting the formula for long-term box office success, having surpassed 10 million viewers and maintained the top spot at the weekend box office for five consecutive weeks. Having not relinquished the number one position in the overall box office for even a single day since its release, the gap between it and competing films has widened significantly, increasing the likelihood that its period of solo dominance will continue.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated computer network for film ticket sales, 'The Odyssey' took first place at the weekend box office by drawing 698,395 viewers over the three days from the 4th to the 6th. The cumulative audience has reached 10,027,997. On the 6th, the 33rd day since its release on the 5th of last month, it surpassed the 10 million mark, becoming the second 10-million-viewer film of this year after 'The King's Warden' and the first 10-million-viewer foreign film released in 2026.

This is also deeply meaningful for Nolan. He now holds his second 10-million-viewer film in Korea, following the release of 'Interstellar' in 2014. 'The Odyssey' is recorded as the tenth foreign film to reach 10 million viewers in Korean history. Notably, it is his new work released three years after 'Oppenheimer,' depicting the journey of Odysseus, who finished the Trojan War, as he returns to his home, Ithaca, based on the epic poem 'The Odyssey' by the ancient Greek poet Homer.

As much as its scale of success, its sustainability is also remarkable. 'The Odyssey' has maintained the number one position in the overall box office for 33 consecutive days since its release. Even after surpassing 10 million viewers, it added approximately 700,000 viewers during the weekend alone, showing that the audience momentum has not weakened. It has also set a record for the longest consecutive period at number one among foreign films released this year.

Analysis suggests that the scale of the production and the viewing environment also influenced this long-term success. 'The Odyssey' is known to be the first feature film to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras, which stimulated demand for large screens and premium theaters from the early stages of its release. As a work that expands Homer's classic into a modern audiovisual experience, it is evaluated as a case that actively utilizes the theater space itself, rather than just the narrative.

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' took second place, drawing 146,678 viewers during the same period and recording a cumulative total of 8,792,035. Unlike 'The Odyssey,' which has already crossed the 10 million mark, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is still about 210,000 viewers away from reaching 9 million, making it a point of interest to see how much the final audience size can be pushed through long-term success.

The horror film 'Obsession,' which faced its opening weekend, rose to third place with 138,442 viewers, bringing its cumulative audience to 185,095. During the same period, it recorded a 95% CGV Golden Egg Index, receiving positive evaluations in terms of audience satisfaction, making its potential for a surge through word-of-mouth a key variable.

The performance of Korean films was relatively sluggish. 'Gyeongju Trip,' starring Gong Hyo-jin, Lee Jung-eun, Park So Dam, and Lee Yeon, ranked fourth with 49,417 viewers and a cumulative total of 297,594, nearing the 300,000 mark. 'Bi-gwang,' starring Ryu Seung Ryong and Ha Ji-won, stayed at fifth place with 40,844 viewers and a cumulative audience of only 71,397.

In particular, the solo dominance of 'The Odyssey' goes beyond the success of an individual work, demonstrating how strongly blockbuster films can concentrate audience choices in the recent theater market. With the gap between first and second place exceeding 500,000 viewers even in its fifth week of release, attention is focused on how far 'The Odyssey' will ultimately draw in audiences beyond the 10 million milestone.