Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey entered 2026 as one of the most anticipated films of the year, and it’s safe to say it has lived up to the hype. Earning some of the best reviews of Nolan’s storied career, the fantasy epic has also been killing it at the box office. The Odyssey broke multiple box office records during its opening weekend, and even with Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the horizon, it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. As Nolan’s latest continues its domination of the box office charts, it’s also emerging as the frontrunner in this year’s awards race.
According to Deadline, The Odyssey is estimated to earn $87 million domestically in its second weekend, which would be a new record for Nolan (topping The Dark Knight‘s second weekend). Remarkably, that’s only a 30% decline from its massive opening weekend, which is an incredible hold. As a point of comparison, Oppenheimer dropped 43.4% in its second weekend, which was considered a very strong hold. To date, The Odyssey has grossed $286.3 million domestically and $639.6 million worldwide.
The Odyssey is parlaying its commercial success into traction on the awards circuit. Variety had a recap of Academy screenings of the film, revealing it went over quite well with voters. “[Nolan] is the definitive filmmaker of our time,” said one Academy member. “Good luck to those of us that have movies coming out the rest of the year,” said a member of the actors branch when praising the strong performances in The Odyssey, calling the film “the NBA All-Star game of acting.”
It’s still far too early in the year to proclaim anything as the definitive Oscars frontrunner. We’re still waiting for the wave of fall film festivals, where several awards hopefuls will be screening. It’s possible something breaks out at one of those events and announces itself as a realistic contender for Best Picture. All that said, at this point, considering the enthusiastic reception to The Odyssey, it would be a surprise if the film did not at least secure a Best Picture nomination (as well as nominations in a bevy of other categories above and below the line). So, it’s worth wondering if Nolan’s epic can be the winner.
The Odyssey steamrolling its awards season competition might have been a lock if Nolan hadn’t just won a few years ago for Oppenheimer, taking home Best Director and Best Picture. Directors have helmed multiple Oscar winners in the past, but it’s rare for a filmmaker to be honored for consecutive projects. In some cases, after someone wins one it can be a disadvantage in subsequent years (especially if that victory was recent). Awards voters feel that they’ve already recognized a certain filmmaker so it’s time for someone else to get their moment in the spotlight. All that said, the combination of the massive box office and sterling critical acclaim could make The Odyssey too big for voters to ignore.
Without having seen many of this year’s would-be contenders, one possibility is Nolan winning his second Best Director Oscar for The Odyssey (which is a filmmaking masterclass from a technical perspective) while another film takes home Best Picture. This would be an interesting parallel to Steven Spielberg’s career. After winning Best Picture and Best Director for Schindler’s List, Spielberg (controversially) only won the latter again for Saving Private Ryan a handful of years later. However, this decade, there’s only been one Picture/Director split at the Oscars. Over the past handful of years, it’s become more common for one film to emerge as the awards season juggernaut and win a majority of its nominations. In four consecutive years, the same movie has won Best Picture and Best Director.
Unless Dune: Part Three breaks out and has its The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King moment later this year, there doesn’t appear to be anything on the horizon that can match The Odyssey in terms of sheer scale and scope (while also still being prestige enough for awards voters). That doesn’t mean The Odyssey is guaranteed to win, but it’ll likely dominate a lot of the conversation over the next several months, especially as Universal kicks off its campaign in earnest. It’s clear that Nolan’s latest has impressed many — and not just general audiences. The fact that Academy members are offering this high of praise is a sign that The Odyssey could be the one to beat this year.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
