The Odyssey Holds 97% Audience Score as $263 Million Debut Fuels $1 Billion Talk

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 21

The Odyssey’s Rotten Tomatoes audience score held at 97% after more reviews came in, topping 2026 wide releases including The Sheep Detectives at 96% and Project Hail Mary at 95%.
More than 400 critics also gave the film a 95%, and the 97% audience mark stands as Christopher Nolan’s best, ahead of The Dark Knight and Memento at 94% and Oppenheimer at 91%.
A viral claim that the “real” audience score was 56% stemmed from Rotten Tomatoes’ split between verified and unverified users; verified ratings require linked Fandango ticket purchases to limit review bombing.
Box office has so far backed the strong reception: the film opened to $263 million worldwide on a reported $250 million budget, a Nolan record that has already sparked speculation it could reach $1 billion.

Sources

Can Nolan's controversial $250M epic surpass the billion-dollar success of his Batman films?

With a record 97% audience score, is this film proving director-driven blockbusters are cinema's future?

How will Nolan’s modern casting choices influence its path through the Academy’s new diversity rules?