The Odyssey defies gods, trillionaires, and Deadpool to become biggest R-rated movie ever

Christopher Nolan's epic has supplanted Deadpool & Wolverine as the highest-grossing movie unsuitable for viewers under 17

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  August 20, 2026 | 4:44pm
Credit: Universal
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The Odyssey defies gods, trillionaires, and Deadpool to become biggest R-rated movie ever

Despite the backlash from the world’s richest man and Homer’s most popular translators, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey crossed yet another milestone today. After amassing $1.35 billion at the global box office, the film is now the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, per Variety. The film has supplanted another Odyssey-heavy movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, which prominently featured Honda’s affordable minivan, to the tune of $1.38 million. The Odyssey has made $516 million domestically and $835 million internationally, making it not only the biggest R-rated movie ever, but Nolan’s biggest hit. It’s also the third R-rated movie to enter the prestigious club, which also counts Joker as a member, making Odyssey the first good R-rated movie to do so. 

The box office is having a major comeback this year, following a lumbering and seemingly endless COVID recovery period. It’s also dealing with the fact that 2019, which saw Disney release Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, and Toy Story 4, set too high a bar for the post-strike Hollywood to compete with. Nevertheless, The Odyssey is now the fifth movie to enter the billionaires club this year, joining Brand New Day, Toy Story 5, Michael, and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Adding more fuel to Troy’s fire, 2026 still has yet another Cyclops-starring blockbuster on the way: Avengers: Doomsday. Six of the highest-grossing movies ever in a single year should help continue bolstering the case for selling tickets to movies in expensive theaters as a way to make lots and lots of money, a business strategy that has fallen out of favor in recent years.

 
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