Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has done what no Hollywood film has ever done in South Korea: in local-currency terms, it has overtaken "Avatar: The Way of Water" to become the highest-grossing international release in Korean box-office history. As of 11 October, the Universal epic had accumulated KRW139.2 billion — roughly $101.5 million — making it the top Hollywood title the territory has ever seen.
Only two films of any kind now stand above it in Korea, and both are domestic productions: Jang Hang-jun's "The King's Warden," the all-time record holder at KRW153.2 billion ($111.7 million), and Lee Byeong-heon's 2019 comedy "Extreme Job" at KRW139.6 billion ($101.8 million). Every other Hollywood release in history — every Marvel epic, every Cameron spectacle — now trails Nolan's mythological voyage.
A run two months in the making
The record is the culmination of a remarkable theatrical run. "The Odyssey," starring Matt Damon alongside Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Anne Hathaway, opened in Korea on 5 August — about three weeks after its North American and European debuts — and held the top spot at the box office throughout much of its run. It reached one million admissions on its fourth day, two million on its sixth, and eight million by day 24.
The defining milestone came on its 33rd day in theatres, when the film crossed 10 million admissions — the benchmark of a true Korean blockbuster. In doing so, Nolan became the first foreign director to notch two 10-million-admission films in Korea with standalone, non-franchise pictures, following 2014's "Interstellar," which set off a black-hole craze across the country a dozen years ago. James Cameron had previously reached the milestone twice with "Avatar" and "Avatar: The Way of Water," and the Russo brothers with two Marvel films — but both pairs belong to franchises. Nolan's achievement, with two original films, stands alone.
By late September the film had recorded 11.24 million admissions, moving into fifth place among the highest-grossing foreign films in Korean history after passing "Avengers: Infinity War." Along the way it surpassed the Korean totals of "Aladdin" and "Frozen 2," and outsold "Avatar: The Way of Water" on tickets too — 11.2 million against the Cameron film's 10.8 million.
The IMAX phenomenon
No account of this run is complete without IMAX, the format that has become the film's signature. "The Odyssey" was shot entirely on IMAX film cameras — a commitment to large-format theatrical presentation that Nolan has championed for his entire career — and Korean audiences responded at an unprecedented scale.
The film drew 1.1 million moviegoers to IMAX screens in Korea, or 11.3 percent of its total audience, setting a new admissions record for IMAX theatres in the country and surpassing the previous mark held by "Avatar: The Way of Water." The format's share of the audience was larger than for any other top IMAX performer, underscoring how completely the film's epic scale translated into a premium-ticket phenomenon. Globally, the picture is even more striking: the film is the biggest IMAX earner ever, with more than $486 million in IMAX receipts, and its domestic IMAX 70mm opening-weekend take set a format record.
