The Odyssey Finds Its Audience as UK Box Office Enjoys an Epic Weekend

1. The Odyssey – £12,566,300 – NE

Opening-weekend breakdown

The Odyssey opened with £12.57m, including £4.31m on Saturday (34.3%), £4.67m on Sunday (37.2%) and £3.58m on Friday (28.5%). It added £2.74m on Monday and £2.7m on Tuesday.

Historical ranking

Its opening ranks 69th all-time, between The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Joker, and close to Casino Royale, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Thor: Love and Thunder. Adjusted for inflation, it ranks 123rd, between Jurassic World Dominion and Avatar, near Bruce Almighty, The Day After Tomorrow, Hannibal, and Jurassic Park.

Over the past 52 weeks, it is the fourth-biggest opening, between The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael. For 2026, it is the third-biggest opening, behind Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

A Barbenheimer-style weekend

Three years after Barbenheimer, another event-driven weekend appeared. According to JustWatch, 60% of entertainment viewers planned to watch both The Odyssey and the World Cup Final over the same weekend.

On Saturday, 10.3m viewers watched England v France in the third-place play-off. On Sunday, 19.2m watched the World Cup Final, which included a half-time show for the first time, featuring Madonna, Coldplay, and BTS. In the US, Super Bowl audiences have risen by 20% for the half-time show alone, and the World Cup Final may have benefited in a similar way. By comparison, the December 2022 final drew 19m viewers on the same weekend Avatar: The Way of Water opened with £11.2m.

While Nolanties and cinephiles were more focussed on The Odyssey, England’s third place playoff game on Saturday and the World Cup Final did have an impact on its opening weekend seen by estimates over the weekend dropping from £13m to, £12.8m and then down to £12.56m.

Admissions were 1,568,826 using industry average of £8.01 but as with the US breakdown it must have taken about 60% from IMAX/PLF which would have surely pushed the average price to closer to double but there is not a similar analysis like from Entelligence for the UK.

1,568,826 admissions is similar to the 1,518,734 admissions Jurassic Park opened the same weekend in 1993 with £4,875,137; as well as films including Avatar, Men In Black, Sex and the City, X-Men 2, and Hannibal. Showing again how these opening are far less impressive than they look as 2004’s Troy admissions were very similar 1,340,206 opening £6,017,523.

Oppenheimer comparison

Oppenheimer opened in 2023 with £10,891,486: £3.24m on Friday (30%), £4m on Saturday (37%) and £3.6m on Sunday (33%). It added £2.13m on Monday and £2.1m on Tuesday, eventually reaching £58.5m.

It opened second behind Barbie (£18,509,235) and stayed behind Barbie for six weeks. Its later weekends were strong: £8,222,657 in its second weekend, £5,493,480 in its third and £3,167,966 in its fourth. Oppenheimer remained in the top five for seven weeks and the top ten for ten weeks.

The Odyssey has predictably taken more than Oppenheimer as it’s the only major film on release, but the lack of a major film opening against it as Barbie in 2023 and after Toy Story 5, Moana and Minions & Monsters haven’t had the legs they were expected will surely see July down from previous years, of course with Spider-Man Brand New Day it will be the best August for over a decade, but why didn’t Disney or any other studio open a film against The Odyssey?

Likely chart run and release window

With Spider-Man: Brand New Day opening on 31 July, The Odyssey should remain number one for two weeks and stay in the top five until September. Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie could push it down to third in its fourth weekend. As with Barbie and Oppenheimer, it may then leave the chart quickly in September because of the number of new releases.

The Odyssey is expected to have a 100-day theatrical window, followed by PVOD in November and Sky Cinema in April 2027.

Opened I 751 cinemas had the 3^rd biggest opening in the UK between Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and Wuthering Heights; 53^rd 700+ cinema opening since 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; but of course, opening in 751` cinemas it must have played in over 2,500 screens. This is where the IMAX/PLF BO has a big impact as while these cinemas were packed out 24 hours a day there must have been thousands of shows that were barely full.

Surely the film could have opened in a third of the screens and probably taken as much, as many talked about the films opening as “Roadshow” but that is when a film has an exclusive opening in a limited number of screens to build up the cinematic nature of the film. While The Odyssey has the cinematic cinema experience opening it in so many screens dilutes that has seen it opening in 70mm at the Odeon Leicester Square this week and also playing in the tiny studio screens next door.

The Odyssey opening was 10.2% of its US opening which is slightly lower than might have expected given the massive amount of Nolanties in the UK, but it does show how IMAX artificially inflates the BO. As Dunkirk was 20% and Oppenheimer was 13.2% while Inception 9.4% and Interstellar 11.32%.

BFI IMAX impact

Unsurprisingly, BFI IMAX was the strongest cinema for The Odyssey. It sold out almost every seat for its first five-week run, which has now been extended to September. The venue took £219,867 over the opening weekend and has sold more than 82,000 seats so far, generating £2,169,882.

That makes it the cinema’s third highest-grossing film, ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (£216,454) and Oppenheimer (£207,677). The Odyssey also beat the BFI IMAX presale records set by Dune: Part Two (£366,000 in its first 24 hours) and Oppenheimer (£254,000), selling 28,000 tickets and taking £750,000 in 24 hours. Tickets at BFI IMAX cost £26–£30, while Cineworld Leicester Square IMAX, a mile away, charges £28.

Nolan comparisons

Inception opened in 2010 with £5,912,814 from 452 screens and finished on £35,264,403. It dropped 29% in its second weekend and 22% in its third, taking £4,172,568 and £3,229,651. It held number one for one week, stayed in the top five for five weeks and remained in the top ten for eight weeks.

Tenet opened in 2020 with £5,335,654 from 611 screens and finished on £17,479,421. It dropped 59% in its second weekend and 42% in its third, taking £2,151,490 and £1,233,090. It held number one for eight weeks, stayed in the top five for nine weeks and remained in the top ten for ten weeks.

Dunkirk opened in 2017 with £10,023,720 from 638 screens and finished on £56,797,955. It dropped 17% in its second weekend and 43% in its third, taking £8,235,532 and £4,624,570. It held number one for four weeks, stayed in the top five for eight weeks and remained in the top ten for ten weeks.

Interstellar opened in 2014 with £5,378,220 from 574 screens and finished on £20,852,599. It dropped 29% in its second weekend and 49% in its third, taking £3,777,804 and £1,895,368. It held number one for two weeks, stayed in the top five for four weeks and remained in the top ten for six weeks.

Dark Knight Trilogy context

The Odyssey is difficult to compare directly with The Dark Knight Trilogy, but the films show similar patterns in chart longevity, with strong holds at number one and comparable runs in the top five and top ten.

Batman Begins opened in 2005 with £4,427,802 from 514 screens and finished on £16,733,960. It held number one for two weeks, stayed in the top five for five weeks and remained in the top ten for eight weeks.

The Dark Knight opened in 2008 with £11,191,824 from 502 screens: £2.85m on Friday, £3.06m on Saturday and £2.74m on Sunday. It finished on £49,411,323, held number one for two weeks, stayed in the top five for six weeks and remained in the top ten for eight weeks.

The Dark Knight Rises opened in 2012 with £14,362,443 from 594 screens: £5.52m on Friday, £4.82m on Saturday and £3.98m on Sunday. It finished on £56,446,768, held number one for two weeks, stayed in the top five for six weeks and remained in the top ten for eight weeks.

• 2. Toy Story 5      £1,657,468 – £45,308,647

Down 33.2% in its fifth weekend

£356k 21.36% (-33.1% £532k) Fri; £704k 42.2% (-30.3% E1.01m) Sat; £600k 36% (-18.6% £737k) Sun; took £406k Monday and £452k Tuesday.

74th biggest fourth weekend between A Minecraft Movie and Project Hail Mary (close to Despicable Me 4, Alice in Wonderland, Incredibles 2, and Mrs Doubtfire) and 151st biggest inflated fourth weekend between A Minecraft Movie and Avengers: Endgame (close to Hercules, Arthur Christmas, Ratatouille and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

8th biggest Pixar fourth weekend between Toy Story 2 and Incredibles 2 (close to Monsters, Inc, A Bug’s Life, Inside Out and Toy Story) and 13th biggest inflated fourth weekend between Incredibles 2 and Ratatouille (close to Incredibles, Wall-E, Monsters University and Inside Out).

Fifth weekends Toy Story films

2019’s Toy Story 4 dropped 28.8% #2 £2,704,238 and £47,287,515 of £66,030,065/£73,254,961 behind The Lion King #1 £16,671,764 

2010’s Toy Story 3 dropped 33.3% £2,107,815/£2,837,580 and £63,848,415 86.9% of £73,405,113/£98,819,320.

Toy Story 3 was in the top 5 for 9 weeks (taking £1m+ for 6 weeks) and in the top 10 for 12 weeks (taking £261,359 in its 12th weekend).

2000’s Toy Story 2 dropped 41.4% £1,622,052/£3,057,091 and £37,522,503 86.2% of £43,491,021/£81,967,783

1996’s Toy Story dropped 50.7% £929,076/£1,828,476 and £18,258,355 81.9% of £22,297,733/£43,883,253

Other recent Pixar sequels’ fifth weekends

2024’s Inside Out 2 dropped 56.6% £2,225,169 and £44,485,366 75.6% of £58,721,001

2018’s Incredibles 2 dropped 1.5% £2,354,530/£2,612,159 and £45,007,302 80.2% of 56,1m/£62.3m

2016’s Finding Dory dropped 47.3% £1,510,744/£1,633,071 and £35,832,165 84.1% of £42,604,905/£46,054,695

All the weeks after the opening have been far from impressive, as analysts believe. Especially factoring in no premium formats, no 3D, limited premium seating and much lower children’s ticket prices. Of course, much is down to releasing it in June rather than July, especially in the UK, given how Toy Story 3 performed.

Fifth weekends

1999’s A Bug’s Life dropped 32.1% £1,509,076/£2,871,187 and £24,865,427 84.8% of £29,310,536/£55,766,602

2002’s Monsters, Inc. dropped 38.2% £1,440,360/£2,689,343 and £34,072,102 91.4% of £37,264,502/£69,577,776

2009’s Up dropped 62.4% £1,293,662/£1,904,822 and £31,403,801 91.6% of £37,178,973/£67,072,877

2003’s Finding Nemo dropped 51.1% £1,659,861/£2,994,479 £33,335,198 89.7% of £37,178,973/£67,072,877

81st biggest between Paddington 2 and Moana 2 (close to Finding Dory, Frozen, Avatar: Fire and Ash and Alice in Wonderland) and 180th biggest inflated between The Batman and The Bodyguard (close to Austin Powers in Goldmember, The Mask, Shrek Forever After and The Golden Compass).

• 3. Moana £1,523,562 – £5,550,265

Dropped 47% in its second weekend.

£352k 23.1% (-54.6% £775k) Fri £635k 41.7% (-39.5% £1.05m) Sat; £550k 36.1% (-30.6% £792k) Sun; took £334k Monday and £375k Tuesday.

691^st biggest second weekend between Die Hard with a Vengeance and Ice Age (close to Gulliver’s Travels, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Princess And The Frog and Early Man) and the 1,145^th biggest inflated second weekend between Tomb Raider 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) (close to Flatliners, ParaNorman, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Jack the Giant Slayer)

25th biggest second weekend over the last 52 weeks between Weapons and The Roses (close to Disclosure Day, Minions & Monsters, The Sheep Detectives and The Bad Guys 2).

15th biggest Disney reimagination second weekend between Disney’s Snow White (£2,015,179) and Alice Through The Looking Glass (£1,352,548) (close to Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, Disney’s Christopher Robin, Cruella, and Pete’s Dragon (2016).

When a Disney film underperforms, it tends to underperform badly. Moana’s failure resembles last year’s Tron: Ares, highlighting Disney’s broader problem: it releases fewer films than its rivals, and most are tentpoles. When one disappoints, it becomes a major story. Other studios release far more films, so titles such as Masters of the Universe and Supergirl are quickly forgotten. Moana, however, follows Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and arrives after the huge success of 2024’s Moana 2.

Release gap and studio pipeline.

Moana also follows Hoppers, while Disney’s next release is not until Hexed, an original animated film due in November. Until then, Disney has several titles from 20th Century Studios, and those films — including The Devil Wears Prada 2, Send Help and Avatar: Fire and Ash — have performed much more strongly.

Toy Story 5 has outgrossed all of them, but it is still falling short of expectations. It was expected to have stronger legs and now looks unlikely to reach £60m.

Disney’s modern remake strategy

Disney’s current approach is a digital-age version of its old playbook. From the 1940s through the 2000s, the studio regularly re-released classic animated films every seven years, introducing them to each new generation. From the 1980s onward, those theatrical runs were often followed by limited video releases.

Today’s live-action remakes serve a similar purpose. They are the modern equivalent of Disney’s straight-to-DVD sequels from the 1990s and 2000s: a way to repackage familiar IP for a new audience while taking minimal creative risk.

Early reimaginings and the remake boom

Disney’s first live-action reimagining was 101 Dalmatians in 1996, followed by 102 Dalmatians in 2000. After the sequel underperformed, Disney waited until 2010 before returning to the strategy with Alice in Wonderland, which opened with £10,555,220 and took £42,169,542 overall.

Cinderella and Maleficent followed, before Disney remade two of its most beloved animated films: The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. Both were major successes, leading to two more high-profile remakes in 2019: The Lion King and Aladdin.

Moana’s proven appeal

Moana 2’s success showed the character’s continuing appeal. In 2024, the sequel opened with £12,021,342 and went on to take £42,357,963, far ahead of the original 2016 film, which opened with £2,214,898 and finished on £20,041,031.

The affection for Moana is clear. She offered a different kind of Disney heroine: one who rejected the princess label and romantic-interest storyline, and was instead defined by leadership, strength, and a deep connection to her culture. The original animated film was hugely popular on Netflix before moving to Disney+ in 2019, where it accumulated 37.7bn minutes viewed between 2020 and 2025.

Why praise for the remake is complicated.

Critics who liked Moana (2026) often pointed to the same qualities that made the animated film work: the story, the songs, and the strong central message. But because those elements come directly from the original, they also raise the question of whether they are reasons to praise the reimagining itself.

Timing and development issues

The bigger problem was timing. The live-action Moana was developed while a Moana TV series was also in progress. Disney first announced the series in 2020, then announced the live-action film in 2023. After footage from the series was seen, the series was reworked into a feature film.

If the TV project had remained a series, and if the live-action remake had not been delayed, the two Moana releases would not have arrived so close together. A wider gap would likely have helped both films feel more distinct.

Moana ultimately opened in line with Disney’s middle-tier animated reimaginings, close to Snow White (£3,856,173) and Cinderella (£3,803,799).

• 4. Minions & Monsters £1,173,551 – £9,339,435

Dropped 32% in its third weekend.

£249k 21.2% (-22.2% £320k) Fri; £504k 41.8% (-33.1% £753k) Sat; £450k 37.4% (-12.1% £512k) Sun; took £312k Monday and £358k Tuesday.

561^st biggest third weekend between Starsky & Hutch and Disney’s Christopher Robin (close to Ready Player One, Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang, Miss Congeniality and Sleepy Hollow) and 863^rd biggest inflated third weekend between Just Friends and Highlander 2: The Quickening (close to Puss in Boots, Garfield, Rio and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2).

The three family films that should have each had their own audience if they were split up properly are now emerging as one, as they are all taking similar box office; the hope will be that with school holidays starting, Minions & Monsters can still have long legs through to the end of August. It is due to be released on PVOD in early August, but previously that did not have much impact as the other Minion films still played out the summer holidays.

With school holidays starting and no new competition for families until Paw Patrol, Universal Pictures will be hoping the film can have long legs through the summer holidays, but even if it does, it is unlikely to take more than £20m. It will, of course, not be the end of either the Minions or Despicable Me, but Illumination’s next film will be an original, Not Alone, opening in April 2027. It will be followed by another Nintendo film in 2028, with The Secret Life of Pets 3 and Sing 3 in development.

Third weekends

2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped 45% £2,663,816 and £23,130,282 50.54% of £45,764,546

2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 27% taking £3,839,659 #2 from 617 screens and £25,600,301 53.8% of £47,562,575

2015’s Minions dropped 33% taking £4,154,359 #1 from 605 screens and £27,623,294 58% of £47,645,626

2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 44% taking £2,225,543 #2 from 539 screens and £27,082,903 57.1% of £47,436,199

2010’S Despicable Me dropped 0% taking £2,581,073 #2 from 532 screens and £15,069,277 76.6% of £19,670,786

• 5. Evil Dead Burn £303,561 – £1,677,715

Down 66.7% in its second weekend

Took £112k 36.9% (-58.1% £267k) Fri; £125k 34.2% (-41.9% £215k) Sat; £101k 29.3% (-36.1% £158k) Sun.

2,628^th biggest second weekend between Highlander 3: The Sorcerer and Backbeat (close to Poltergeist 2, Thelma & Louise, The Avengers (1998), and Arlington Road) and 3,031^st biggest inflated second weekend between The Big Lebowski and This Is England (close to Dangerous Liaisons, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Darkman and Evil Dead II (1987).

2013’s Evil Dead dropped 60.9% £538,466 and £2,560,331, 76.3% of £3,355,676

2023’s Evil Dead Rises dropped 28.3% and £3,356,627 63.5% of £5,288,972

While 1993’s Army of Darkness took and 1987’s Evil Dead II dropped 43.9% £80,147/£298,594 and £903,030 76.5% of £1,180,250 (£4,435,544 inflated).

Dropping so heavily in its second weekend, Evil Dead Burn would normally drop to the bottom of the top 10, but as there were no other releases with The Odyssey its stayed in the top 5 for a second weekend.

——————-

2026 BO is currently up 10% from 2025.

The weekend’s top 10 box office took £17,852,838, up 89.8% from last weekend’s £9,405,942: 2,073,500 admissions, up 89.8% from 1,092,444 admissions.

8^th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 05 June 2026 #1 Scary Movie £4,188,570 (                            23.30%) and 02 January 2026 #1 Avatar: Fire And Ash £4,427,062 (25.65%)

33^rd biggest since cinemas reopened out of 296 weeks between 05 June 2026 #1 Scary Movie £4,188,570 (23.30%) and 04 March 2022 #1 The Batman £13,531,854 (76.32%)

139^th biggest top 10 of the last 25 years (out of 1,267) between 20 December 2013 #1 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug £5,358,380 (29.96%) and 30 March 2018 #1 Peter Rabbit £5,610,556 (31.45%) and 400^th biggest inflated between 19 February 2010 #1 Avatar £2,817,009 (22.83%) and 18 January 2002 #1 LOTR: Fellowship of the Rings £3,276,912 (36.89%)  

The top 3 took £15,747,330 (88.2%) of the top 10; The Odyssey 70.39% (£12,566,300); Toy Story 5 9.28% (£1,657,468); Moana 8.53% (£1,523,562).

75^th biggest percentage share #1 (70.39%) between 28 April 2017 #1 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 £13,092,657 (70.40%) and 27 June 2003 #1 Bruce Almighty £7,260,467 (70.29%)

134^th biggest admissions (1,568,826) between 10 June 2022 #1 Jurassic World: Dominion £12,121,728 (1,576,298) and 20 November 2015 #1 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 £11,255,566 (59.82%)

Up 33.23% from 2025; (£13,400,090); Smurfs (£1,212,110); I Know What You Did Last Summer (£941,968); Friendship (£191,666); Barry Lyndon (50th Anniversary 4K Restoration) (£60,823); #1 Superman £4,877,459 2nd weekend down 30% 706 screens (36.40% of top 10)

Up 35.92% from 2024 (£13,134,444); Twisters (£4,149,210); blur: To The End (£147,981); Present Laughter – NT Live 2019 (Re: 2024) (£108,736); Thelma (£65,175); Forrest Gump (30th Anniversary 4K Re-Issue) (£39,751); #1 Despicable Me 4 £4,925,773 drop 45% 2nd week 703 screens (37.50% of top 10)

Down 49.68% from 2023; (£35,475,322); Barbie (£18,509,235); Oppenheimer (£10,891,486); #1 Barbie £18,509,235 1st week 721 screens (52.17% of top 10)

Up 83.7% in 2022 (£9,715,916); The Railway Children Return (£365,481); #1 Thor: Love and Thunder £4,063,773 2nd week, 67% drop (56% without previews), 701 screens (41.83% of top 10)

Up 217.8% 2021 (£5,617,410); Space Jam: A New Legacy (£1,363,556); The Forever Purge (£720,032); The Croods 2: A New Age (£696,563); Summer of Soul (£62,562); #1 Black Widow £1,801,017 2nd week 649 screens (32.1% of top 10)

Up 5,694% 2020: (£193,567); Dreambuilders (£12,407); #1 Onward £49,271 4th week #1 split over 5 months 123 screens (16%)

Down 27.23% from 2019; (£24,533,644); The Lion King (£16,671,764); #1 The Lion King £16,671,764 1st week 713 screens (67.95% of top 10)

Down 9.1% from 2018: (£19,632,861); Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (£9,735,930); Hotel Artemis (£357,261); Spitfire (£211,464); Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie (£125,081); Escape Plan 2 (£6,737); #1 Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! £9,735,931 1st week 702 screens (49.6% of top 10)

Down 19.1% from 2017: (£19,205,602); War for the Planet of the Apes (£7,195,773); Cars 3 (£2,625,000); The Beguiled (£414,924); #1 War for the Planet of the Apes £7,195,773 1st week 597 screens (37.4% of top 10)

Up 11.3% from 2016: (£16,046,904); Ghostbusters (£4,388,944); Ice Age: Collision Course (£3,780,694); Dirty Dancing (Secret Cinema) (£946,086); Keanu (£13,736); #1 Ghostbusters £4,388,944 1st week 581 screens (27.3% of the top 10)

Up 36.5% from 2015; (£13,074,413); Ant-Man (£4,011,345); Andre Rieu’s 2015 Maastricht Concert (£1,107,000); The Gallows (£335,875); Self/Less (£215,247); Thomas & Friends: Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure (£155,354); True Story (£137,463); 13 Minutes (£12,572); #1 Ant-Man £4,011,345 1st week 555 screens (30.6% of top 10)

Up 10.2% from 2014: (£16,203,729); Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (£8,705,995); Monty Python Live (Mostly) – O2 London 2014 (£1,178,091); Andre Rieu’s 2014 Maastricht Concert (£830,586); Pudsey the Dog: The Movie (£446,450); Some Like It Hot (Re: 2014) (£12,869); #1 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes £8,705,995 1st week 561 screens (53.7% of top 10)

Up 82.4% from 2013: (£9,787,596); The World’s End (£2,123,576); The Frozen Ground (£89,515); Breathe In (£26,910); Easy Money (£21,346); Roman Holiday (Re: 2013) (£12,701); #1 Monsters University £2,791,078 2nd week 532 screens 19% drop (28.5% of top 10)

Down 4.6% from 2012 (£18,751,675); The Dark Knight Rises (£14,362,443); Lola Versus (£348); #1 The Dark Knight Rises £14,362,443 1st week 594 screens (76.6% of top 10)

Down 39.2% from 2011; (£29,355,666); Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (£23,753,171); Cell 211 (£21,479); #1 Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 £23,753,171 1st week 582 screens (80.9% of top 10)

Up 18.1% from 2010: (£15,116,235); Inception (£5,912,814); The Concert (£38,053); #1 Inception £5,912,814 1st week 452 screens (39.1% of top 10)

Down 35.3% from 2009; (£27,606,395); Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (£19,784,924); Moon (£157,867); The Informers (£6,149); #1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince £19,784,924 1st week 584 screens (71.6% of top 10)

Up 20.3% from 2008; (£14,835,085); Wall·E (£4,253,736); Meet Dave (£681,584); Donkey Punch (£144,953); City of Men (£17,000); Standard Operating Procedure (£3,539); #1 Mamma Mia! £4,561,109 2nd week 435 screens 31% drop (30.7% of top 10)

Up 49.1% from 2007: (£11,971,119); Hairspray (£2,045,912); Firehouse Dog (£90,730); #1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix £6,639,973 2nd week 566 screens 60% drop (55.4% of top 10)

Up 55.6% from 2006; (£11,936,216); Superman Returns (£4,337,637); Atomised (£25,823); #1 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest £6,048,087 2nd week 514 screens 56% drop (50.6% of top 10)

Up 50.6% from 2005: (£11,856,897); Fantastic Four (£3,541,391); Dark Water (£480,199); Kicking and Screaming (£240,452); #1 Fantastic Four £3,541,391 1st week 406 screens (29.9% of top 10)

Up 22% from 2004 (£14,628,009); Spider-Man 2 (£8,766,902); The Prince and Me (£366,942); Nathalie (£39,084); #1 Spider-Man 2 £8,766,902 1st week 504 screens (59.9% of top 10)

Up 128% from 2003 (£7,829,988); The Hulk (£3,529,440); Buffalo Soldiers (£113,664); Brown Sugar (£90,877); Four Feathers (£61,800); #1 The Hulk £3,529,440 1st 500 screens (45.1% of top 10)

Up 126% from 2002 (£7,900,053); Stuart Little 2 (£1,343,398); Jason X (£233,090); Monster’s Ball (£40,132); #1 Scooby-Doo £2,513,564 2nd week 50% drop 474 screens (31.8% of top 10)

2025 Next week: (£15,756,045); The Fantastic Four – First Steps (£8,144,593); The Bad Guys 2 (£1,628,702); The Goonies (40th Anniversary) (£97,054); Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory/Premature Death – The Movie (£74,539); #1 The Fantastic Four – First Steps £8,144,593 1^st week 658 screens (51.69% of top 10)

US Box Office

• The Odyssey – Universal Pictures

Opening performance and audience response

The Odyssey opened with $123.5m, backed by strong reviews, a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and an A CinemaScore.

The opening was met by predictable hyperbole reactions from the industry and analysts making outlandish comparisons to topping Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in 2008, while it could top it, ticket prices are more than double than there were so it will have been seen by less than half who saw The Dark Knight.

Preview strength

Thursday previews brought in $17.5m, ahead of Oppenheimer ($10.5m), Dunkirk ($5.5m), Dune: Part Two ($12m) and Joker ($13.3m), and level with Toy Story 5.

Opening-weekend ranking

The launch ranks 57th all-time, between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and It Chapter One, and close to Top Gun: Maverick, Superman, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

It is also the fifth-biggest R-rated opening, behind Deadpool & Wolverine ($211.4m), Deadpool ($132.4m), Deadpool 2 ($125.5m) and It: Chapter One ($123.4m).

For 2026, The Odyssey is the third-biggest opening so far, behind Toy Story 5 ($159m) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($131m).

Premium-format impact

Premium formats were central to the result: 25% of the opening came from IMAX and 27% from PLF, and every one of the film’s top ten cinemas had IMAX or 70mm capability.

The film also took $6.3m from 41 70mm cinemas.

EntTelligence said 7.5m saw the film in the US compared to 5.9m; but average ticket prices for Odyssey were general $15.32 (versus Oppenheimer ‘s $13.44), PLF at $19.07 (vs. Oppenheimer ‘s $16.64), and 70MM at $22.46 (versus $17.03).

EntTelligence said 70MM brought in 5% of admission while 2D was 95% (similar to Oppenheimer). PLFs were 20% that included 4% Dolby.

Preview sales were heavily weighted towards premium formats: 25% came from digital IMAX, 25% from PLF including Dolby and ScreenX, 5% from 34 IMAX 70mm sites and 3% from standard 70mm. Altogether, IMAX, PLF and 70mm accounted for 58% of previews. With The Odyssey opening in more than 3,900 US cinemas, that means 42% of its preview total came from more than 2,500 standard screens.

Worldwide, IMAX contributed $51.8m: $29.6m in the US, the format’s second-biggest domestic result, and $22.2m internationally.

Advance booking for The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX cinemas opened a year ago and the extreme Nolanties sold out many shows within hours, which was predictable as the same recently happened for advance booking for Dune Part 3 and Avengers Doomsday both opening in December as Nolanties are similar to Swifties will book up as soon as tickets go on sale. As Swifties they will search out a tiny bit of information about Nolan, their behaviour is similar to followers of a cult.

Audience profile

Christopher Nolan was the main draw for 51% of viewers, followed by the cast at 44% and Matt Damon at 27%. Men made up 59% of the audience, including 43% aged 25 and over and 16% under 25. Women aged 25 and over accounted for 31%, while women under 25 made up less than 10%. Viewers aged 25–34 represented 30% of the audience, and under-35s accounted for 55%.

According to PostTrak exits poll 43% of the audience have not been to the cinema in months and probably will not return until Dune Part 3 in December.

Oppenheimer comparison

Oppenheimer opened in 2023 with $82.45m, finished on $330.07m domestically and reached $975.81m worldwide. It opened second behind Barbie, remained in second place for four weeks, stayed in the top five for seven weeks and remained in the top ten for ten weeks, taking more than $1m every week during that run.

Oppenheimer also dominated premium formats. It had 80% of all PLF screens, with IMAX and PLF accounting for 47% of its opening. IMAX alone contributed 26%, including 2% from 25 IMAX 70mm screens with a $70,000 IMAX average. Standard 70mm screens took 4%, while AMC Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD and Regal RPX together contributed 17%.

Other Nolan benchmarks

• Dunkirk: Opened at number one in 2017 with $50.51m. It dropped 47.3% in its second weekend and 36.5% in its third, taking $26.61m and $17.13m. It held number one for two weeks and stayed in the top ten for nine weeks.
• Interstellar: Opened second in 2014 with $47.51m, behind Big Hero 6 ($56.21m). It dropped 40.4% in its second weekend and 45.8% in its third, falling to third place while taking $28.3m and $15.34m. It stayed in the top ten for six weeks.
• Inception: Opened at number one in 2010 with $62.78m. It dropped 32% in its second weekend and 35.7% in its third, taking $42.72m and $27.48m. It held number one for three weeks and stayed in the top ten for 11 weeks.

Likely domestic trajectory

With no major new opener next weekend, The Odyssey should have a second weekend similar to Oppenheimer. The bigger test will come the following weekend when Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens. Even if The Odyssey keeps IMAX screens for five weeks, its third and fourth weekends are likely to see steeper drops.

70mm context

70mm was a popular US cinema format from the 1960s onwards. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was used not only for epic films but also for comedies and dramas that would rarely receive that treatment today. Many opened as roadshow-style releases, playing exclusively in 70mm before expanding nationwide. The Odyssey uses the format in a more modern way: as a premium cinematic event built around scale and spectacle.

Internationally

2014’s Interstellar opened with $82.9m from 62 territories (UK $9.05m 11% of opening) and $132.6m worldwide (opened in China the week after); Interstellar opened in the US with $52.2m from 5 days opened early in 250 screens in IMAX and 70mm taking $13.4m (25%) from IMAX and large format screens; male (52%) and 75% over 25.

2017’s Dunkirk opened with $55.4m from 46 territories and $105m worldwide; the UK was the biggest international territory, taking $12.4m (22.4%), with IMAX taking 14% of its box office, with the BFI IMAX the top IMAX cinema in the UK, the spiritual home for Nolanites.

Oppenheimer opened with $98m from 78 territories from 11,300 cinemas and 17,500 screens; UK $14m; India $7.1m; France $7m; Germany $6.6m; Australia $6.4m; Mexico $4.6m; Saudi Arabia $4m; Spain $3.8m

Took $35m from 720 IMAX cinemas worldwide (20%), taking $13.9m internationally from IMAX (14.8%) from 329 screens.

Opened $140.2m from 73 territories and $263.7m worldwide, from 12,700 cinemas and 25,600 screens; UK $17.4m; France $13.7m; Italy $11.5m; Australia $9.3m; Germany $8.1m; India $7.2m and Mexico $7m.

Opened in 441 IMAX cinemas taking 16%, including seven 70mm IMAX internationally and 45 cinemas with 70MM print and 56 cinemas with 35MM as well as PLFs including 4DX, D-Box, Dolby Vision, and ScreenX.

The third biggest worldwide opening after Super Mario Galaxy Movie $372.5m and Toy Story 5 $312m and is Nolan’s biggest global opening ever, ahead of The Dark Knight Rises $198m and Oppenheimer $180m.

It is the second-biggest R-rated international opening after Deadpool & Wolverine $233.3m

But to put The Odyssey global opening into perspective, in China Kung Fu Soccer took $73.7m in its second weekend and $214.3m total after two weeks; All Wishes Come True opened with $39.6m and A Part of Me opened $13.6m; none of them had the hype surrounding The Odyssey or audience awareness.

• Moana – Walt Disney

Dropped 58% in its second weekend $17.93m and $81.01m

597^th biggest second weekend between We’re the Millers and The Firm (close to Wonka, Green Lantern, Trolls Band Together and Oblivion)

Despite the arrival of The Odyssey, Moana was able to keep about 500 PLF screens for a second weekend including Screen-X, and D-Box screens.

The problem of course was apart from Moana coming out far too soon and far to soon after animated Moana 2 in 2024, it open far too close to Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters which has seen the three films cannibalise themselves.

Toy Story 5 has held stronger as it opened first and does not only play to children, but to all generations who have grown up with the films. The problem with Moana was unlike all of the other Disney reimaginations over the last 16 years it was targetting the same generation who saw the original in cinemas a decade ago. But as with Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu the reason why Moana was made was to sell merchandise, and while fans will not see either in the cinema, they will buy the merchandise as they are huge fans of both, so the films were just 2hr adverts.

2025’s Snow White dropped 66% $14.33m and $66.94m of $87.2m and $205.67m worldwide

2023’s The Little Mermaid dropped 56.7% $41.38m and $186.99m of $298.17m and $569.64m worldwide

2019’s Aladdin dropped 53.2% $42.84m and $185.53m of $355.55m and $$1.054bn worldwide.

While

2024’s Moana 2 dropped 63.3% $51.28m and $337.39m of $460.4m and $1.059bn worldwide. And the original 2016 Moana dropped 50.1% $18.53m and $144.7m of $248.75m/$359.2m and $643.3m/$929m worldwide.

Took $25m internationally from 50 territories and $96.4m total and $178.5m worldwide; France $10.2m; Germany $6.8m; Australia $8.7m; S Korea $5.6m.

• Minions & Monsters – Universal Pictures

Dropped 36% in its third weekend, $13.6m and $136.38m

421^st third weekend between A Few Good Men and Space Jam (close to The Greatest Showman, The Smurfs, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu).

The seven films of Despicable Me and Minions have taken over $6bn worldwide over the last 16 years. Another $6bn+ has been generated from merchandising since the first film was released in 2010, and $725m+ in DVD sales.

Third weekends

2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru dropped 44% $26.83m and $263.4m of $370.54m and $940.48m WW

2015’s Minions dropped 53.5% $22.93m #3 and $262.54m 78.1% of $336.04m and $1.15bn worldwide 71% $823.39m internationally; (55% Rotten Tomatoes) #1 Ant-Man $24.9m 2nd w/e

2017’s Despicable Me 3 dropped 42.4% $19.35m #2 and $188.39m 71.2% of $264.62m and $1.03bn worldwide 74% $770.17m internationally; (75% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 War of the Planet of the Apes $56.26m

2013’s Despicable Me 2 dropped 43.3% $24.9m #2 and $276m 75% of $368.06m and $970.76m worldwide 62% internationally $602.7m; (59% Rotten Tomatoes) #1 The Conjuring $41.85m

2010’s Despicable Me dropped 27.8% $23.68m #3 and $161.28m 64.1% of $251.55m and $543.15m worldwide 53% internationally $291.6m; (81% Rotten Tomatoes); #1 Inception $462.72m 2nd w/e

Third weekend

Minions: The Rise of Gru took $44.4m from 80 territories and $270.1m and $532.25m worldwide; Mexico $28.1m; UK $27.6m; Australia $25m; Germany $16.4m; Spain $12.5m

Took $27.9m from 80 territories, $220.3m total, and $357.9m worldwide; China $32.4m; Mexico $10.6m; Australia $12m; France $13.4m; Germany $10.2m; UK $10m; Spain $7.8m.

Toy Story 5 – Walt Disney

Dropped 28% in its fifth weekend, $13.76m and $429.87m

58^th biggest fifth weekend between How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Minecraft Movie (close to Finding Nemo, Shrek 2, Aladdin (2019) and Up); #42 Toy Story 4 $15.55m; #53; #80 Toy Story 2 $12.12m; #85 Toy Story 3 $11.99m

EntTelligence standard average price $15.25; $19.03 PLF, $13.12 child and $16.66 child PLF

Fifth weekends

2019’s Toy Story 4’s dropped 25.8% $15.55m/$21.2m and $376.48m/$512.3m of $434m/$640m and $1.073bn/$1.5bn WW

2010’s Toy Story 3’s dropped 42.9% $11.99m/$19m and $362.96m/$574.6m of $415m/$667m and $1.067bn/$1.7bn worldwide

1999’s Toy Story 2 dropped 33.5% $12.12m/$29.9m and $156.35m/$384.5m of $245.8m/$570m and $397.37m//$1.15bn WW

1995’s Toy Story dropped 10.2% $9.85m/$28.3m and $113.45m/$325.8m of $223.3m/$630.9m and $401.15m/$1.11bn WW

Fifth weekends of recent Pixar sequels

2024’s Inside Out dropped 34.1% $19.96m and $571.8m of $652.98m and $1.698bn worldwide

2018’s Incredibles 2 dropped 42.7% $16.26m and $535.86m of $608.58m and $1.242bn worldwide

2016’s Finding Dory dropped 45.8% $11.28m and $445.74m of $486.29m and $1.028bn worldwide

The six Toy Story films have taken over $2bn in the US and $4.1bn+ worldwide, selling over $16bn in merchandising and more since 1995. As with everything for Disney, the film is just the start of the journey. Disney’s economic impact study said the franchise has generated nearly $50bn in “overall economic impact” globally. It creates the cultural event that drives the real revenue streams: around $1bn a year in global retail sales for Toy Story products.

Took $30m internationally from 52 territories, $527.5m total, and $958.4m worldwide; Mexico $71.4m; UK $60.2m; Argentina $18.3m.

Toy Story 5 will become the 63^rd film to take $1bn worldwide this week, but to paraphrase Sean Parker ‘A billion dollars is not cool. You know what is cool? Three billion dollars.” A tentpole taking $1bn worldwide was cool 20+ years ago, but now, billion-dollar films should be taking much more. $1bn film had about 150m admissions worldwide in 2006; now it is less than half, but in reality, it is less than a third. EntTelligence average for Toy Story 5 was $15.25 and a third more for IMAX/PLF, $19.03, with tentpoles taking 30% from IMAX/PLF and making a huge dent in admissions.

UK Box Office Top 10

Box Office Preview

The Odyssey will drop about 30% in its second weekend, similar to 2023’s Oppenheimer dropping 24.5% dropped 24.5% £8,222,657 and £27,657,601.

2010’s Inception dropped 29% £4,172,568 #2 from 456 screens and £14,204,521 of £35,264,403; dropped 22% in the third weekend £3,229,651; held #1 for 1 week and in the top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.

2020’s Tenet dropped 59% £2,151,490 #1 from 613 screens and £10,006,540 of £17,479,421; dropped 42% in the third weekend, taking £1,233,090, held #1 for 8 weeks and in the top 5 for 9 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks

2017’s Dunkirk dropped 17% £8,235,532 from 663 screens and £27,017,724 of £56,797,955; dropped 43% in the third weekend, taking £4,624,570, held #1 for 4 weeks and in the top 5 for 8 weeks and top 10 for 10 weeks.

2014’s Interstellar dropped 29% £3,777,804 from 576 screens and £12,131,990 of £20,852,599; dropped 49% in the third weekend taking £1,895,368 held #1 for 2 weeks and in the top 5 for 4 weeks and top 10 for 6 weeks.

2005’s Batman Begins dropped 33% £2,926,042 from 516 screens and £9,388,835 of £16,733,960: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 5 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.

2008’s The Dark Knight dropped 39% £6,737,306 from 510 screens and £25,374,829 of £49,411,323: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.

2012’s The Dark Knight Rises dropped 49% £7,275,558 from 589 screens and £30,551,765 of £56,446,768: #1 for 2 weeks, top 5 for 6 weeks and top 10 for 8 weeks.

Coming Soon

• Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie – Paramount Pictures

Animated adventure comedy based on the TV series Paw Patrol and sequel to 2023’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. Includes voices of Carter Young, McKenna Grace, Terry Crews, Jennifer Hudson, and Snoop Dogg, directed by Cal Brunke.

The film was in development before the release of the earlier film in 2023.

UK Box Office History

Film                                                                               Opening   Total

2019’s Paw Patrol Mighty Pups                              £521,505   £1,154,936

2020’s Paw Patrol: Ready, Race, Rescue              £483,886    £1,772,296

2023’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie              £3,348,155 (£2,004,484 previews) £8,020,233

The Merchandise Empire

Paw Patrol is the biggest global children’s TV show, far bigger than Bluey, broadcast in over 160 countries. Paw Patrol merchandise has sold over $15bn worldwide. An estimated 97% of the franchise’s total earnings come from merchandise, and there are over 100,000 different Paw Patrol products.

The show is, effectively, a 22-minute TV advert.

The Cinema Paradox

Despite Paw Patrol’s huge popularity on TV and in merchandising, the films have struggled to be as successful in cinemas.

It is surely similar to Peppa Pig: hugely popular on TV, but why would you pay to see something you can watch at home? Young children are not fixated on seeing the latest episode; they can watch the same episode a hundred times.

• Ice Cream Man – Studiocanal

Slasher horror starring Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O’Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman, Sarah Abbott, and Benjamin Byron Davis and directed by Eli Roth.

Eli Roth has said Ice Cream Man is his “most terrifying and insane film to date, I mean, I want to outdo Hostel and Green Inferno and Cabin Fever in terms of bat shit crazy” blending twisted humour and slapstick gore.

Being an extremely violent and gory horror film, Ice Cream Man, like many of Eli Roth’s films, will have a limited audience, as seen with his 2023 horror film Thanksgiving, which opened £486,197, took £1,000,453 and is likely to be very front-loaded.

• Andre Rieu’s 2026 Summer Concert: Viva Maastricht – Piece Of Magic Entertainment

Last year, there were three concerts released in December Andre Rieu’s 2025 Christmas Concert: Merry Christmas £845,675; in August, Andre Rieu’s 2025 Maastricht Concert: Waltz The Night Away! Opened £566,325 #7 547 screens and in April, Andre Rieu’s 75th Birthday Celebration: The Dream Continues, £596,897.

2024’s Andre Rieu’s Christmas Concert: Gold And Silver opened £931,024 #6 558 screens

Before lockdown

2014’s André Rieu: Maastricht Concert £830,586,

2015’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,107,000.

2016’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,414,075.

2017’s Andre Rieu: Maastricht Concert £1,439,604.

2018’s André Rieu’s Maastricht Concert Amore £1,783,222.

2019’s Andre Rieu Maastricht Concert – Shall We Dance? £1,492,154 #4 587 screens.

• Super Troopers 3 -Disney

Comedy starring Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Chace Crawford, and Brian Cox, and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar; sequel to 2018’s Super Troopers 2.

Why are Disney releasing the film internationally as the first two films had a very limited audience?

2018’s Super Troopers 2 opened £101,881 #12 from 306 screens

2002’s Super Troopers barely found an audience

Does Disney seriously think they can attract an audience with this sequel opening 25 years after the first film opened in the US? Remember being at Fox when they had the first one, it was sitting on the shelf for months before they dumped it into cinemas, as it was very unfunny American humour, which has surely gotten worse 25 years later.