Christopher Nolan, who has long enjoyed passionate love from Korean fans, achieved his second 10 million admissions with "The Odyssey 2026" following his first visit to Korea.
On the 6th, according to the integrated box office network of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the movie "The Odyssey 2026" (director Christopher Nolan, imported/distributed by Universal Pictures) surpassed 10 million cumulative admissions that afternoon.
Earlier, "The Odyssey 2026" gathered 1,321,186 viewers during its third-weekend of release (Aug. 21-23), and it recorded 1,058,611 viewers during its fourth-weekend (Aug. 28-30). Even though four weeks had passed since its release, "The Odyssey 2026" maintained a steady trend and continued to accumulate cumulative admissions with steep momentum in its fifth week, achieving the milestone of 10 million admissions in just 33 days.
Korean fans' special love for Christopher Nolan has continued for a long time. Despite low domestic interest in DC Comics films, "The Dark Knight" (2008) drew 4.28 million viewers—more than double the previous record set by "Superman Returns" (2006) of 2.09 million—and was a major hit, while the follow-up "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) recorded an even higher 6.42 million. "Inception," released in 2010, also drew about 6 million viewers despite Nolan's characteristically complex development and received considerable attention.
Among them, "Interstellar" (2014) had somewhat disappointing results overseas, including in North America, but in Korea it set an extraordinary record of 10.38 million viewers, achieving overwhelming box office success. It took the honor of remaining at No. 3 on the all-time foreign film box office in Korea, following "Avatar" and "Frozen."
Responding to Korean audiences' enthusiastic reception of "Interstellar," Christopher Nolan expressed his joy at a press conference during his Asia tour, saying, "I think Korean audiences like my films because their scientific literacy is high."
Having a special bond with Korea, Christopher Nolan attended his first visit to Korea ahead of the release of "The Odyssey 2026," joined by producer and wife Emma Thomas and lead actors Matt Damon and Charlize Theron, thrilling many fans. Upon arrival he enjoyed Korean culture for the first time, sampling salt bread at a cafe in Ikseon-dong, shopping at Olive Young with Emma Thomas, and walking along the Han River.
At a press conference held before the release of "The Odyssey 2026," Nolan said, "I've long wanted to bring my films to Korea. I think it's been that way since 'Interstellar.' I know Korean audiences really liked 'Interstellar,' and I know it ran in cinemas for a long time. It's strange and pleasing that people in countries I've never been to like a film I made. It makes me want to visit that country," expressing his gratitude to Korean fans.
He added, "I wanted to bring the film and talk with audiences and hear their impressions. I tried to come to Korea for 'TENET,' but I couldn't because of COVID. Finally I'm able to come to Korea with 'The Odyssey 2026,' and I'm very happy and curious to meet Korean audiences for the first time." Afterwards, Nolan attended red carpet events and stage greetings to meet the Korean audiences who had waited for him for a long time.
As if answering Nolan's sincerity, "The Odyssey 2026" is setting box office records with an even fiercer momentum than "Interstellar." From opening day to the present it has never relinquished the top spot in advance booking rate and box office, and it became the fastest film this year to pass 8 million viewers in just 24 days. This makes Nolan's second 10 million admissions in Korea, 12 years after "Interstellar." Moreover, since it reached 10 million admissions in 33 days—faster than "Interstellar," which surpassed 10 million on its 47th day—and is still drawing around 100,000 daily viewers even on weekdays, expectations are high that it will significantly surpass "Interstellar" (10,387,691 viewers).
Notably, unlike overseas markets where "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (director Destin Cretton, presented/distributed by Sony Pictures) is showing overwhelming strength, "The Odyssey 2026" is receiving especially large affection in Korea. According to Box Office Mojo on the 6th, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has earned $2,341,267,864 in worldwide revenue (about 3.1595 trillion won), holding the undisputed global box office No. 1 spot. "The Odyssey 2026" follows with $1,561,164,965 in revenue (about 2.1067 trillion won), becoming the highest-grossing film of Nolan's career, but it could not surpass the firepower of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which opened two weeks later.
Conversely, in Korea, despite "The Odyssey 2026" opening one week later than "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," it surpassed "Spider-Man: Brand New Day"'s cumulative admissions (then 8,454,111) in just 25 days and rose to No. 2 among 2026 releases. Contrary to predictions that "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" would be the first to reach 10 million, bolstered by the fervent support of Korean audiences for Nolan, "The Odyssey 2026" claimed the honor of being the second 10 million film of 2026. Attention is focused on what new records "The Odyssey 2026" will set next.
[photo] OSEN DB, Universal Pictures
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