The Odyssey has passed $1.1bn, beating The Dark Knight Rises as Nolan’s biggest film

Christopher Nolan has set a new career record after The Odyssey became the highest-grossing film he has ever made.

The filmmaker’s adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic has passed $1.1bn at the global box office less than a month after its release. The film opened on 17 July and has now taken $1.104bn worldwide.

The Odyssey box office success means Nolan has beaten his previous personal record, held by The Dark Knight Rises. The 2012 Batman film earned $1.085bn globally, while The Dark Knight, released in 2008, made $1.005bn.

The result marks another major milestone for Nolan, whose films have now earned more than $7bn worldwide. His past work includes Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar and the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.

The Odyssey follows Matt Damon as Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, as he tries to return home after the Trojan War. His journey lasts 10 years and is filled with danger, loss and mythic obstacles.

Nolan wrote and directed the three-hour epic and produced it with his wife and long-time creative partner, Emma Thomas.

The cast has also helped turn the film into a major cinematic event. Damon leads the film alongside Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, with Zendaya, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o also appearing.

The film has now become the highest-grossing release of Damon, Hathaway and Pattinson’s careers.

Its success was immediate. The Odyssey opened at number one worldwide and held the top global position for two consecutive weekends. Strong reviews and heavy audience interest helped keep momentum alive after its opening.

Universal Pictures has presented the film as a major theatrical win. The company said audiences had sought out premium formats and repeat viewings, helping turn the release into one of the biggest cinema events of the year.

Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic theatrical distribution, praised Nolan’s ability to make films that audiences feel they need to see in cinemas. He said The Odyssey showed the director working at the peak of his powers.

Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, Universal Pictures International’s president of distribution, described the film as a global epic with huge scale and a bold creative vision.

The film was made by Syncopy and Universal Pictures and is one of three Universal titles to cross $1bn worldwide this year. The others are The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic.

The budget was also enormous. The Odyssey reportedly cost $250m to produce before marketing, making it one of the most expensive films of Nolan’s career.

That scale appears to have paid off. The film’s huge box office return shows that audiences are still willing to turn out for long, ambitious theatrical releases when the director, cast and subject create enough excitement.

For Nolan, the achievement is especially striking because his previous box office record came from Batman, one of the most recognisable superhero properties in the world. The Odyssey is based on one of literature’s oldest stories, yet it has now surpassed his biggest comic-book success.

The milestone strengthens Nolan’s position as one of the rare modern directors whose name alone can sell a global blockbuster.

After years of debate about the future of cinema, The Odyssey has given Hollywood a clear answer: large-scale theatrical filmmaking can still dominate when audiences believe the experience is worth leaving home for.