Presale box office of the Universal title reached RMB39.5 million ($5.9 million) as of August 12 (Beijing time), with combined preview and presale grosses hitting RMB91 million ($13.5 million) ahead of the film’s Aug. 14 wide release in the Middle Kingdom, per ticketing agency Maoyan.

Nolan traveled to China with producer Emma Thomas and star Matt Damon Oscar winner Charlize Theron (Monster) for a multi-stop publicity tour.

My Oscar Book:

The visit opened with photocall at Beijing courtyard on an old maple tree, where Thomas, Theron and Damon surprised Nolan with birthday cake and led serenade for the director. Nolan did two major print interviews, while Theron and Damon met with four content creators whose combined social media following exceeds 100 million.

The tour continued with a fan screening at Universal Beijing Resort’s Universal CityWalk Cinema, organized with the platform Red Note, China’s answer to Instagram. Hundreds of influencers and film fans attended a Q&A with the talent, and the event generated more than 10 trending topics on the platform within hours.

A separate sit-down during the trip, Nolan’s interview with Beijing-based podcaster Zhong Shu, has since gone viral online, drawing praise for its depth on the film’s themes.

Nolan’s China Box Office

Adrian Tong, at Media Partners Asia, points to Nolan’s China box office history as the relevant yardstick: Oppenheime, 2023 Oscar winner, finished around $61 million in mainland China.

Maoyan logged more than 250,000 want-to-see registrations for “The Odyssey” before presales opened. “A nine-figure run would be exceptional, since little from Hollywood outside the biggest franchises reaches that level in China.

Imax network commitments are usually reserved for the biggest local titles, making the allocation for a Hollywood film unusual in the current market. “But it’s the rational response to demand, and favorable economics,” Tong says, pointing to how Nolan’s films consistently over-index on the Imax format in China.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has surpassed $200 million in China in 16 days of release, though no other newly released international film has approached that mark, with the rest of the Hollywood slate landing mostly in the $14.8 million to $46 million range.

Tong says the market hasn’t closed to Hollywood so much as become extremely selective “the path to sustainable blockbuster success is now narrower and far steeper to navigate.”