The Odyssey worldwide box office: $264 million start is Christopher Nolan's best ever; beat Oppenheimer, The Dark Knight

The Odyssey earned $264.1 million worldwide in its opening weekend, including $124.5 million in North America, making it Christopher Nolan's best opening ever.

The film surpassed Nolan's previous opening records: $249 million for The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and beat Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight.

The Odyssey received an A CinemaScore and a 97% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 50% of North American viewers seeing it in enhanced formats like IMAX (23%).

Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, the film adapts Homer's ancient Greek poem and cost $250 million to produce.

With strong word-of-mouth, The Odyssey is projected to potentially reach $1 billion globally, following Nolan's Oppenheimer which grossed $915 million.