Nolan's epic draws reverential reaction from first Academy voter screenings, with Anne Hathaway's category placement already the season's opening question.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey began its formal Oscar campaign this week with Academy member screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and London. The response was borderline reverential. One veteran Academy member described Nolan as "the definitive filmmaker of our time," according to Variety.

The first screening took place at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles, presented in 70mm to a near-capacity house of roughly 1,000 members. The film opened to $264 million globally on its opening weekend and was shot entirely on IMAX cameras, a first for any feature film.

Critical reception had already positioned The Odyssey as a frontrunner. Variety called it "an astonishing achievement. A triumphant, spectacular epic." Time Out described it as "dense but accessible, packed with career-best work from the stacked cast," which includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong'o.

The central awards question now is where Universal campaigns Anne Hathaway, who plays Penelope opposite Damon's Odysseus. Variety described the lead-versus-supporting decision as "the first great category question of the Oscar season." Hathaway previously won Best Supporting Actress for Les Misérables in 2013. A lead campaign would open different terrain entirely.

Nolan won Best Director for Oppenheimer in 2024. Consecutive coronations from the Academy are rare. Early voter sentiment suggests The Odyssey is ready to make that argument.