Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey scores 94% on Rotten Tomatoes — and its box office voyage is just beginning

Christopher Nolan has made a career out of making audiences work for their popcorn, whether it was Inception, which left viewers debating for years over whether Leonardo DiCaprio’s character was still trapped in a dream, or his dark, brooding reinvention of the Batman franchise.

Now, it appears he has taken on one of the biggest homework assignments in history: The Odyssey. The film draws from Homer’s ancient Greek epic and stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the legendary Greek hero whose treacherous journey home begins after the Trojan War.

And, judging by the Rotten Tomatoes reaction, audiences are ready to sail into the unknown with him.

The Rotten Tomatoes score

Nolan’s epic currently boasts a 94% Tomatometer score from 424 critics, while the audience response is even more enthusiastic, with a 97% Popcornmeter score from more than 10,000 verified ratings. In other words, the critics have approved and audiences appear to have climbed aboard, tied themselves to the mast and declared the voyage worth taking.

The reactions suggest The Odyssey is very much a Nolan film: Spectacular as ever, and not quite in a hurry to explain itself.

One viewer described it as “truly a masterpiece about love and sacrifice”, praising the film’s editing, visuals and a score featuring actual Greek instruments. Another called it “absolutely masterful”, while singling out Tom Holland as a standout.

“Simply fantastic!” wrote another viewer, who apparently has already started wondering what Nolan will do next. Understandable. Nolan films have a way of making people leave the cinema not just with opinions, but with theories, questions and an urgent need to discuss the ending with anyone within conversational range.

Not every early viewer was completely swept away, however. One audience member felt the film could be “all over the place at times”, with some scenes and musical choices not quite landing as strongly as others. Another praised the pacing and spectacle but felt the dialogue was the film’s weaker link.

Still, even the more critical reactions appear to land on the same broad conclusion: The Odyssey is difficult to resist.

There is the scale, for starters. Nolan is reportedly working with a massive $250 million production, which is a fairly Nolan-esque way to approach a story about a man trying to get home. Most people would book a flight. Odysseus gets monsters, war, temptation and an epic detour lasting years. Nolan, meanwhile, appears to have decided that the only appropriate response is a blockbuster of similarly mythic proportions.

The early audience reactions also point to the film’s emotional core. Beneath the spectacle, The Odyssey appears to be striking viewers as a story about love, sacrifice and the exhausting, occasionally terrifying business of finding your way back home.

And yes, there is plenty of spectacle. Viewers have praised the scenery and visuals, while others have described the film as captivating and thought-provoking. One audience member simply said they were “floored” after leaving the theatre.

The box office numbers

Universal Pictures said on Sunday that the mythological epic collected $264.1 million worldwide in its first three days, including $124.5 million from the US and Canada.

That global opening marks Nolan’s biggest launch since 2012, when The Dark Knight Rises opened to $249 million worldwide. The final chapter of his Batman trilogy remains a formidable opponent, but The Odyssey has managed to sail past it on the global stage.

In North America, however, Nolan’s Batman films still hold the advantage. The Odyssey currently ranks as the filmmaker’s third-biggest domestic opening, behind The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight.

But once the international box office enters the picture, the story changes dramatically. The Odyssey becomes Nolan’s biggest opening ever worldwide, giving the filmmaker a new career high, even if the two Batman films still come out ahead when their earnings are adjusted for inflation.

The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises remain Nolan’s two biggest box-office hits overall, with both films crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. But The Odyssey appears to have started its journey with plenty of momentum — and strong word of mouth could help it chase that same billion-dollar milestone.

Nolan came close with his last film, Oppenheimer, which earned $915 million worldwide in 2023. Now, with a blockbuster-sized opening and audiences apparently willing to embark on a very long trip through Greek mythology, The Odyssey could be his next film to join the billion-dollar club.

Odysseus took years to get home. Nolan, meanwhile, may not have to wait quite that long to reach another box-office milestone.