How many people saw Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on opening day in Korea?

The film drew 291,359 viewers on Wednesday and ranked first at the local box office. It also captured 44.8 percent of ticket sales on its opening day.

Why did The Odyssey get attention in Korea before its release?

Christopher Nolan made his first official visit to Korea earlier this week to promote the film. The movie follows Odysseus’ perilous homecoming after the Trojan War and features a star-studded cast led by Matt Damon.

How does The Odyssey’s opening-day performance compare with other big releases this year?

Its opening-day audience was the third highest among films released in Korea this year. It trailed Spider-Man: Brand New Day at about 688,000 and the Korean sci-fi blockbuster Hope at about 333,000.

'The Odyssey' draws over 290,000 moviegoers on opening day, tops box office

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Summary

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey drew 291,359 moviegoers in Korea on Wednesday and topped the local box office. The film took 44.8 percent of ticket sales on opening day, according to Korean Film Council data. Its opening-day turnout was the third highest this year, behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Hope. Nolan also visited Korea this week to promote the film.

Key Facts

The Odyssey drew 291,359 viewers on its opening day in Korea, according to Korean Film Council data.
The film accounted for 44.8 percent of all ticket sales on Wednesday.
Its opening-day turnout was the third highest among films released in Korea this year.
The Odyssey is the third highest opening day among Christopher Nolan’s films released in Korea, behind Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises.
The film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Zendaya.

By Yonhap

Published Aug 6, 2026 10:24 am KST

Matt Damon in a scene from the film “The Odyssey” / Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Christopher Nolan's new film "The Odyssey" attracted more than 290,000 moviegoers in Korea on its opening day to reign atop the local box office, data showed Thursday.

The action-packed epic drew 291,359 viewers Wednesday, accounting for 44.8 percent of all ticket sales, according to the data from the Korean Film Council.

The opening day figure is the third highest among films released this year, following the latest Spider-man installment "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" at around 688,000 and the Korean sci-fi blockbuster "Hope" at around 333,000.

It is also the third highest among Nolan's previous films released in the country, following "Oppenheimer" (2023) at around 552,000 and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) at about 441,000.

As of 10:03 a.m., "The Odyssey" accounted for 47.6 percent of ticket presales, followed by "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" at 34.2 percent.

Earlier this week, Nolan made an official visit to Korea for the first time to promote the action-packed film, which follows the perilous homecoming journey of Odysseus (Matt Damon), the Greek king of Ithaca, after winning the Trojan War.

Its star-studded cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Zendaya.

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