Christopher Nolan’s big-screen adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ is already shaping up to be one of the summer’s most unpredictable box office giants.

The Universal release is currently tracking for a wide North American opening between $80 million and $100 million when it arrives in theaters on July 17. That range may seem broad, especially after the film sold out 70mm IMAX screenings a year in advance and recently dominated premium large-format ticket sales, but Nolan’s movies have a habit of defying early projections.

‘Oppenheimer,’ for example, was initially expected to open in the $40 million to $50 million range before exploding to an $82.4 million debut. Some have credited the Barbenheimer phenomenon for boosting that result, but The Odyssey has a major advantage of its own: it is the only major studio tentpole opening wide that weekend.

Advance large-format sales are currently being driven by Nolan’s dedicated cinephile audience. The ensemble film, led by Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal, will also have a three-week exclusive IMAX run.

Tracking shows the film performing strongest with men over 25, slightly ahead of where Oppenheimer was at the same point. Overall first-choice interest for ‘The Odyssey’ is also ahead of ‘Oppenheimer’ and tied with ‘Project Hail Mary,’ which is tracking for an $80.5 million opening.

Nolan’s biggest domestic debuts remain ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ with $160.9 million, ‘The Dark Knight’ with $158.4 million, and ‘Oppenheimer.’ But another key factor with Nolan films is their staying power. Oppenheimer achieved a strong 4x multiple from its opening weekend, finishing with $330 million domestically, while Inception opened to $62.7 million and legged out to $292.5 million in North America with a 4.7x multiple.

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