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

Christopher Nolan’s new film “The Odyssey” attracted more than 290,000 moviegoers in Korea on its opening day to reign at the top of the local box office, data showed on Thursday.

The action-packed epic drew 291,359 viewers on Wednesday, accounting for 44.8 percent of all ticket sales, according to 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 film, which follows the perilous homecoming of Odysseus, played by 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.

Yonhap