The Odyssey Overtakes Deadpool & Wolverine as Highest-Grossing R-Rated Film Ever
By The Guardian, August 21, 2026The Odyssey has overtaken Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
According to figures compiled by The Numbers, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has achieved $1.35bn (£990m) at the worldwide box office, compared with the Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman superhero movie, which stands at $1.34bn (£980m) since its release in 2024.
An R-rating as designated by the Motion Picture Association requires anyone under 17 to be accompanied by an adult, and is normally seen as a brake on box office expectations. In its citation, the MPA said The Odyssey was given an R-rating “for violence and some language”.
In the UK, The Odyssey has been rated 15 for “strong violence”, while in Australia it has an M-rating for “mature themes, violence and coarse language”.
Other R-rated features to do well include Nolan’s previous film Oppenheimer, which benefited from the “Barbenheimer” craze to amass $983m worldwide, the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker ($1.1bn), and the two standalone Deadpool movies ($782m and $786m respectively).
At the North American box office alone, Deadpool & Wolverine remains ahead, having taken $637m against The Odyssey’s $516m. Interest in Nolan’s film, however, is high in other areas of the world: the UK and Ireland’s total of $92.7m is the second highest, followed by France on $69.3m and Italy on $55.6m. China has also contributed a significant amount to The Odyssey’s coffers, with a reported $36.3m.
Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus, Tom Holland as Telemachus and Anne Hathaway as Penelope, the film is already the most successful of Nolan’s career, having surpassed his previous highest-grossing film, 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, which has earned $1.082bn (£805.7m) globally.
However, The Odyssey’s figures could well rise significantly as it is currently in the middle of a box office battle with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has already taken more than $2bn worldwide, becoming the second fastest film to do so (after Avengers: Endgame in 2019).