Universal First Studio Past $5 Billion at 2026 Box Office on Odyssey Wave

Universal Pictures became the first studio to cross $5 billion at the 2026 global box office, powered by Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Illumination’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, NBCUniversal and The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The studio said this week’s grosses lifted its year-to-date total to $1.788 billion domestically and $3.218 billion internationally. It is Universal’s third calendar year above $5 billion after 2015 and 2017, and the first time any studio has hit the mark in 2026, both outlets said.

Only five films have surpassed $1 billion worldwide this year; Universal distributed three of them. The Odyssey has passed $1.7 billion worldwide, becoming Universal’s highest-grossing film ever, while The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael also joined the billion-dollar club. Universal handles Michael internationally; Lionsgate released it in the U.S. and Canada.

Illumination’s Minions & Monsters and Focus Features’ Obsession added further weight. Obsession is Focus Features’ highest-grossing film worldwide and the top earner for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, NBCUniversal said. Universal International and Focus titles occupy five of the ten highest-grossing worldwide films of 2026 on the studio’s tally: The Odyssey (No. 2), Michael (No. 4), Super Mario Galaxy Movie (No. 5), Minions & Monsters (No. 8), and Obsession (No. 9).

Universal has topped the global weekend box office 11 times so far this year. The Hollywood Reporter noted The Odyssey’s awards-season cast — Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway among them — as part of the film’s cultural run beyond pure ticket sales.

For industry readers following theatrical strategy on Studio, the milestone is a ticket-sales figure, not a profit statement. It still signals that a mix of Nolan-scale event cinema, Illumination franchise animation, a music biopic, and a lean Focus horror hit can stack into a year-defining studio total while streaming rivals dominate attention cycles.

DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island opened in theaters on September 25 as Universal marked the milestone. Remaining 2026 titles on the studio slate include Other Mommy, Sense & Sensibility, Focker-In-Law, Violent Night 2, and Werwulf, NBCUniversal said.

The breadth across Universal Pictures, Illumination, DreamWorks Animation, and Focus Features is the strategic point the studio wants buyers and exhibitors to hear: franchise reliability plus original event films plus specialty hits, rather than a single tentpole carrying the year. Three of five billion-dollar movies under one distribution umbrella is the cleanest proof point in the announcement.

Verified facts as of Friday’s reports: Universal first studio past $5 billion worldwide in 2026; $1.788 billion domestic and $3.218 billion international; The Odyssey above $1.7 billion and Universal’s biggest film ever; three Universal-distributed billion-dollar titles; Obsession Focus Features’ worldwide high; 11 global weekend No. 1s. How Forgotten Island and the holiday slate add to the total will decide whether 2026 becomes Universal’s strongest theatrical year of the decade or a mid-September peak.