'The Odyssey' Makes $51 Million on Opening Day

Key Points:

• Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” earned $51 million on Friday from 3,919 North American screens, with weekend projections rising to as high as $120 million, potentially making it Nolan’s best opening since “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012.
• The film, based on Homer’s epic and starring Matt Damon alongside an all-star cast, has already outgrossed the entire opening weekend of Nolan’s 2014 film “Interstellar” and is expected to become the third film in 2026 to open above $100 million.
• Disney’s live-action “Moana” took second place with $5.5 million on Friday and faces a projected 56% drop over the weekend, raising concerns that it could lose around $100 million against its $250 million budget.
• “Minions & Monsters” secured third place with $4.3 million on Friday and is expected to reach $136 million domestically after three weekends, though it is one of the lower earners in the franchise but profitable due to its modest $85 million budget.
• “Toy Story 5” and “Evil Dead Burn” rounded out the top five, with “Toy Story 5” earning $4.2 million on Friday and expected to push its North American total to around $429 million, while “Evil Dead Burn” is projected to gross about $4.7 million over the weekend.