Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Is Here, And Fans Are Already Calling It His Best Film Yet
by Becca Monaghan · BuzzFeedChristopher Nolan has officially done it again, with The Odyssey drawing rave reviews from both critics and fans.
The film only dropped on Friday (17 July), but it's already on track to being one of the biggest cinema events of the year, with photos of fans lining cinema corridors going viral online.
The line just to get to the escalator to get into the theater for the Odyssey.
Movies are BACK pic.twitter.com/cfz8fzriHp
— Kenjac (@JackKennedy) July 17, 2026
Kenjac / Via x.com
It's also already made Rotten Tomatoes history for Nolan. The Odyssey is currently sitting at a staggering 96% on both the Tomatometer and Popcornmeter, based on 278 critic reviews and more than 500 audience ratings. That puts it ahead of some of the director's most loved films, including Memento (94%), The Dark Knight (94%), and Oppenheimer (93%).
With the film estimated to rack up more than $200 million at the global box office this opening weekend, the hype is very real.
Christopher Nolan did it again dawg, The Odyssey is a clear 10/10 film, I don’t know where I would rank this over his films but I think it clears The Dark Knight and Inception
— Hank (@DeionHD) July 16, 2026
@deionHD/X / Via x.com
The third act of The Odyssey being like snorting 30 lines of narrative payoff cocaine
— paul (@paulswhtn) July 17, 2026
@paulswhtn/X / Via x.com
Just got out of #TheOdyssey. What a tale. What an amazing story. The cast, the scenery, the music.. the way Nolan keeps delivering those stories… bowing down to you, sir. What a chance we have to be alive as the same time as you. pic.twitter.com/5KxdfZcHC2
— Elley 🔱 (@thisiselley) July 16, 2026
@thisiselley/X / Via x.com
the first two thirds of The Odyssey had me kinda going “I mean this is really good but it’s just…pretty much The Odyssey!” and then the third act hit and I was levitating into the ceiling and ready to watch again ASAP
— Georgia Coley (@artwithinpod) July 17, 2026
@artwithinpod/X / Via x.com
Just left The Odyssey they can gone ahead and start setting them Oscars to the side.
— Kevín (@KevOnStage) July 17, 2026
@kevonstage/X / Via x.com
British historian Tom Holland (yes, a different Tom Holland) also had his say.
Wondering if those who have spent months lambasting a film they haven’t seen will now, confronted by 5 star reviews for The Odyssey, reconsider their boycott, or whether they will dismiss the positive reviews as evidence of a woke conspiracy to overthrow Western civilisation? https://t.co/nQTKXySpKO
— Tom Holland (@holland_tom) July 15, 2026
@holland_tom/X / Via x.com
Before The Odyssey even hit cinemas, The Rest Is History podcast host found himself at the centre of an online spat with Elon Musk after sharing his praise for the film. Musk, who had been highly vocal about the release, later hit back by calling him a "cuck".
The Odyssey is out in cinemas now.
Additional photo credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images