Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' about to become Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time, and fans on Twitter react to the news

Giuliana Tiscioni • Writer

Sep 12, 2026 12:00 PM EDT

When the first photos of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' came out, most of us were completely appalled by the historical inaccuracies and fairly sure that Nolan had missed the mark in understanding Odysseus and his journey.

In February 2025, the conversation about The Odyssey started on the internet. Even though we love Matt Damon, his characterization as Odysseus was, to say the least, questionable. We will never forget the whole debate over respecting time periods, the necessity of historical accuracy, whether it was relevant or not to be extremely careful with details, or if it was even worth it to be that thorough for a modern audience who has virtually no knowledge about the Bronze Age whatsoever. The soldier's armor, the Roman helmets, the costume design, the lack of bright colors in the Mediterranean Sea, and even the fact that Nolan read Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey were all topics of discussion and, yes, of criticism.

At one point, we all thought that the movie was going to end up being a complete failure. Well, maybe not that much, but we definitely assumed it was going to be bad, disrespectful of the original material, trashed by the critics, and hated by the entire academic community. We were both right and wrong about all of this.

For one, the reception of the movie from the general public was great. It has 4.4 stars on Letterbox, 96% percent of acceptance in Rotten Tomatoes, and 8.4 stars on IMDb. The audience saw the movie and mostly loved it. They went back to the movie theater for a second and third watch, and that's giving The Odyssey the chance to beat the record of Universal's highest-grossing film.

On the other hand, some critics have made less-than-flattering comments about the movies, the writing, and Nolan's ability to take a complicated and emotionally deep story to the big screen. One of those critics was Emily Wilson herself, who mentioned that it "lacks psychological, emotional, political, and ethical depth." Others agreed with her, but the truth is that, in terms of money and popularity, The Odyssey is thriving. Besides, because of the movie, people are starting to take a new interest in ancient epic poetry, history, and the classical world. That has to count for something.

Whether some people like it or not, Nolan's retelling of Odysseus' journey is here to stay, and has the potential to become one of the greatest movies of our generation.