By Nik Mohan

Universal has become the first major Hollywood studio to surpass $4 billion at the global box office in 2026, reaching the milestone just over a month after Disney became the first studio to cross $3 billion at the end of June.

The achievement comes as Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ continues its blockbuster run. After three weekends, the film has earned $911 million worldwide and is rapidly approaching the $1 billion mark. Its third global weekend delivered $136.2 million, including $68 million from IMAX screens (the second-highest-grossing weekend in the premium-format company’s history).

Despite ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ generating a massive $927 million global weekend, ‘The Odyssey’ retained every available IMAX screen outside China, Japan and South Korea, where Nolan’s film has yet to open.

This marks the first time since 2023 that Universal has crossed $4 billion globally and the fifth time in the studio’s history. Warner Bros. was the first studio to reach the milestone in 2025, although Disney ultimately finished the year as the market leader.

Universal’s 2026 total currently consists of $1.53 billion from the domestic box office and $2.48 billion from international markets.

Only three films have surpassed $1 billion worldwide so far this year, with Universal responsible for two of them: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ and ‘Michael.’ The studio has also led the worldwide weekend box office on 10 occasions in 2026.

Universal and Focus Features currently account for five of the year’s 10 highest-grossing films worldwide, including three of the top five. ‘Michael’ ranks second, followed by ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ at No. 3 and ‘The Odyssey’ at No. 4. ‘Obsession’ sits at No. 9, while ‘Minions & Monsters’ holds the No. 10 position.

In other current relations, ‘Obsession’ has officially become Focus Features’ highest-grossing film of all time worldwide. With $475 million globally, it is also the most successful film ever released by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.

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