‘The Odyssey’ hits $640m worldwide on second weekend at box office; ‘Toy Story 5’ passes $1bn

Worldwide box office: July 24-26

Credit: Rentrak. All figures are estimates

Nolan’s Greek epic stays forceful in international markets

Films that open huge at the global box office, powered by the fevered anticipation of fans, often see numbers take a tumble thereafter. But Universal’s The Odyssey is proving to be the opposite case, despite opening with a powerful $264m worldwide.

Christopher Nolan’s Greek epic grossed an estimated $215.3m globally in its second weekend of play, a drop from the opening session of just 19%.

In North America, estimated weekend takings of $87.0m for The Odyssey represent a 30% drop. For international, the weekend estimate of $128.3m shows a drop of just 10% in holdover markets.

Cumulative totals are $286.4m in North America, $353.3m for international and $639.6m worldwide.

The 10% drop in international markets represents the best ever hold for a film that opened above $100m.

UK/Ireland leads the international pack on The Odyssey with a cumulative total of $46.3m, ahead of France ($31.8m), Italy ($28.9m), Australia ($20.7m), Germany ($20.5m), Mexico ($19.0m), Spain ($15.5m), India ($14.4m) and Brazil ($11.1m).

Italy, which hardly has a long tradition of successfully releasing blockbuster films in the summer months, is a particular territory highlight – well ahead of the more-populous Germany, and almost double Spain. Italy’s latest takings of $10.5m represent the country’s biggest second weekend of all time for a US studio film, also capturing 88% of the weekend box office.

In UK/Ireland, estimated three-day takings of $14.9m (an 11% drop) represent the third-biggest second weekend of all time.

The Odyssey enjoyed a 66% market share in UK/Ireland at the weekend, and the same share in Australia, where numbers fell 16% from the opening weekend. Performance in both markets is above Nolan’s Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises at the same point of release.

The Odyssey opened in eight modern markets across the CIS states, led by Kazkhstan (an estimated $1.3m debut), Georgia ($233,000) and Uzbekistan ($156,000).

Latin American markets delivered some exceptionally forceful holds, rising 72% in Argentina, 37% in Peru, 12% in Colombia and 6% in Brazil, and dropping 2% in Mexico, 4% in Chile and 6% in Central America.

Asia likewise saw forceful holds, rising 10% in Taiwan, 9% in the Philippines and 1% in Hong Kong, and dropping 6% in Malaysia. Key Asian markets South Korea, China and Japan have yet to open, with South Korea first among the trio on August 5.

Imax continues to play an outsize role in the success of the film, grossing an estimated $48m on the format at the weekend, the highest-grossing second weekend for a film in Imax history. Imax’s 70mm screens grossed $5.2m from just 41 locations worldwide, taking the 70mm Imax total after two weekends to $16.9m, which is $412,000 per screen. Most 70mm showtimes are sold out into September, reports Imax.

The Odyssey’s global total of $639.6m after two weekends of play compares with just over $400m for Oppenheimer at the same stage of release. Oppenheimer at that point had similarly yet to release in South Korea, China and Japan, but also not in Italy, skewing the comparison. Oppenheimer went on to gross $976m worldwide. Nolan’s biggest worldwide hits remain 2008’s The Dark Knight ($1.01bn) and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises ($1.09bn). These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

Also for Universal, horror hit Obsession landed in China with an estimated $4.9m, a significant chunk of the film’s $11.0m weekend tally. Worldwide total is now $458.4m.

‘Toy Story 5’ passes $1bn worldwide

Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 5 achieved a couple of box office milestones at the weekend: passing $1bn worldwide; and overtaking Michael and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (both $1.01bn) to become the biggest hit of 2026 to date.

Toy Story 5 added an estimated $34.7m globally for the July 24-26 weekend, ranking a well third at the worldwide box office in its sixth weekend of play, and taking the total to $1.02bn.

Toy Story 5 is the sixth Pixar film to gross $1bn worldwide, and now stands as the 14^th biggest animated feature of all time from a US studio.

The film opened in Germany at the weekend with an estimated $1.9m and $2.6m including previews, and also in Austria – the final international markets to release the film.

Cumulatively, Mexico ($75.1m) leads international markets ahead of UK/Ireland ($65.0m), Japan ($52.6m) and China ($41.6m). France ($31.7m) and Brazil ($31.4m) are almost tied, with Australia ($30.7m) not far behind. North America is on $448.6m.

Toy Story 5 is chasing the worldwide lifetime totals achieved by the franchise’s most-successful entries Toy Story 3 ($1.07bn in 2010) and Toy Story 4 ($1.08bn in 2019). These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

Also for Disney, Moana added an estimated $26.9m at the weekend, taking the total to $228.2m. The drop in international markets was a not-too-alarming 35%, suggesting the film – while certainly a significant box office disappointment and likely loss maker for Disney – can continue to play into August.

‘All Wishes Come True!’ and ‘Kung Fu Soccer’ lead powerful market in China

While China has yet to release The Odyssey, box office remains forceful in the market thanks to the performance of a pair of local titles: Mu Zhengxing’s animation All Wishes Come True! and Steven Chow’s Kung Fu Soccer.

Rentrak reports estimated weekend box office of $46.3m and $33.9m respectively, taking the cumulative totals to $112.5m (since July 18) and $286.6m (since July 11).

In fantasy adventure All Wishes Come True!, eight ordinary mortals disguise themselves as immortals to enter a treasure vault only gods can access, leading to a battle with powerful deities. In Kung Fu Soccer, an underdog women’s football team battles for success. Hong Kong-born Chow achieved international recognition in 2001 with Shaolin Soccer and in 2004 with Kung Fu Hustle.

The Chinese pair of hits are among four Asian titles in the current worldwide top 10 chart, joined by India’s Jana Nayagan and South Korean hit Hope.

The former is a Tamil-language political action thriller directed by H Vinoth, and a remake of 2023 Telegu film Bhagavanth Kesari. Jana Nayagan stars Joseph Vijay – filmed before he was elected chief minister of Tamil Nadu in May this year. Box office is $21.8m so far.

Cannes Competition entry Hope, from Na Hong-jin (The Wailing), stars Hwang Jung-min as a police chief in a remote South Korean village that believes itself threatened by a mysterious creature. Cumulative box office has reached $23.2m after two weekends of play.