A Weekend of Box Office Milestones
Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" debuted atop the weekend box office in South Korea, dethroning "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" from the top spot, according to data from the Korean Film Council. The Hollywood blockbuster added 1,333,437 admissions over the weekend, bringing its total to 1,874,731 as of Sunday, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The film follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, with a cast including Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Zendaya. As of Monday morning, "The Odyssey" accounted for 63.5 percent of ticket presales, signaling a strong run.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" drew 1,264,531 admissions over the weekend in South Korea, bringing its total to 5,911,933, according to Yonhap. The film surpassed 6 million admissions on Monday morning, its 13th day of release, as confirmed by distributor Sony Pictures. With that, it became the second most-watched film in the country this year, behind historical drama "The King's Warden" at 16.9 million admissions.
The Korean animated film "Heartsping Of Love 2" placed third with 289,451 admissions, while "Hope" followed with 100,889.
A Historic Global Opening
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" made box office history in its first weekend in theaters, becoming the second-biggest North American opening ever with an estimated $355 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates cited by Africa News. That was just shy of "Avengers: Endgame," which debuted to $357 million in 2019.
The film also made $572 million internationally over 73,500 screens, with China contributing $121 million, adding up to a $927 million worldwide debut—second only to "Endgame" ($1.2 billion).
The success of "Brand New Day" came on the heels of "The Odyssey," which slid to second place in its third weekend with $51 million. Their combined draw helped propel the biggest weekend of all time for North American theaters, with an estimated $430 million total, according to Rentrak.
"The Odyssey" has now earned $395.5 million domestically, bringing its global total to $911.4 million. The film will open in South Korea (Aug. 5), China (Aug. 14) and Japan (Sept. 11), Africa News reported.
The Billion-Dollar Club
Both films have crossed $1 billion worldwide, according to Deadline. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" reached the milestone in five days—the second fastest in history, behind 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." "The Odyssey" also sailed into the billion-dollar threshold.
They join this year's "Michael," which passed $1 billion to set a record as the most successful biopic in history and a historic first for Lionsgate, as well as "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," which reached the milestone in early June. This year's entries expand an exclusive list that includes 2023's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
Among the billion-dollar grossers are established franchises such as Star Wars, Avatar, James Bond, The Lord of the Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Harry Potter, The Fast & The Furious, Jurassic Park, The Dark Knight, Transformers and Disney-Pixar classics.
The 2023 smash "Barbie" propelled Greta Gerwig into the rankings as the first solo female director to reach the milestone. Jennifer Lee hit the billion level with Disney's "Frozen II" (2019), co-directing alongside Chris Buck.
Through August 18, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" had total worldwide earnings of $2,030,051,866, and "The Odyssey" had collected $1,298,172,620.
Outlook
Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak predicted that the Spider-Man effect could push the summer movie season past $4 billion, a first since the 2023 "Barbenheimer" summer, as reported by Africa News. With two major films driving audiences to theaters, the season appears poised for a strong finish.