Downey Jr., del Toro and Spielberg to Moderate 'The Odyssey' Oscar Campaign

Universal launches its official Oscar campaign for Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" the week of Nov. 9, and the studio has stacked the moderator's chair with seven Oscar statuettes. Robert Downey Jr., Guillermo del Toro and Steven Spielberg will each host voter Q&As with Nolan in Los Angeles, according to Variety.

Odysseus took 10 years to get home. Universal is giving the film roughly 10 weeks to get its name on a ballot. The plan puts Nolan, producer Emma Thomas and star Matt Damon in front of Academy voters nearly every night for two weeks.

Who moderates what?

The lineup reads like an awards-season all-star roster:

• Nov. 11: Downey Jr., who won supporting actor for "Oppenheimer" (2024), moderates the Los Angeles kickoff at the TCL Chinese Theatre, screening in Imax 70mm, with Nolan, Thomas and Damon on the panel.
• Nov. 12: Del Toro takes the moderator role at AMC Universal CityWalk, again in Imax 70mm, with Nolan, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson and Damon.
• Nov. 17: Spielberg handles Nolan himself at the DGA Theater #1, in 70mm.

That's seven Oscars between the three moderators, and the strategy is plain: prestige by association, aimed squarely at voters.

What's the box office problem?

"The Odyssey" opened in July to a $264.1 million global debut, the biggest of Nolan's career. It has since crossed $1.1 billion, making it his highest-grossing film. That's the catch. Only two billion-dollar films — "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" — have ever won best picture. "Avatar," "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Barbie" all earned nominations but lost the top prize.

So the campaign leans hard on format and prestige to argue the film is more than a summer tentpole. Nearly every Los Angeles date is tagged Imax 70mm, 70mm or 35mm. The reminder to members is explicit: Homer's poem was shot entirely with Imax film cameras and built to be judged on a screen the size of a building, not on a laptop or home TV via the Academy's digital streaming portal.

Nolan also carries one credential that clears those hurdles. "Oppenheimer," itself a summer blockbuster, took seven Oscars at the 2025 ceremony, including best picture and director.

A documentary, not a screening

One centerpiece of the blitz isn't a screening of the film at all. On Nov. 10, Universal's Spielberg Theater hosts the world premiere of "Behind the Scenes of The Odyssey," a 75-minute making-of documentary introduced by Nolan. Damon, who plays Odysseus, moderates the Q&A afterward.

That panel gathers the film's key artisans: producer Emma Thomas, casting director John Papsidera, editor Jennifer Lame, production designer Ruth De Jong, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, hair department head Gloria Casny, makeup department head Luisa Abel, sound mixer Willie Burton, supervising sound editor Craig Henighan, composer and songwriter Ludwig Göransson and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson.

Variety predicts the film will land around a dozen nominations. If it does, many will come from the people in that room.

Where else can voters see it?

The campaign reaches well beyond Los Angeles:

• New York: AMC Lincoln Square on Nov. 9 (70mm) and Nov. 17 (Imax 70mm).
• San Francisco: AMC Metreon 16 on Nov. 12 (Imax 70mm).
• London: BFI Imax on Nov. 11 (Imax 70mm); Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on Nov. 15 (70mm); Odeon Luxe West End on Nov. 20; a Bristol date is TBA.
• Europe: Soho House, Rome on Nov. 8; Grand Teatret, Copenhagen on Nov. 10; Achtberlin, Berlin on Nov. 12; Yelmo Luxury Palafox, Madrid on Nov. 16.
• Australia/New Zealand: Palace Como, Melbourne on Nov. 11; The Roxy, Wellington on Nov. 24.
• Brazil: Cinesystem Cinemas, Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.

Other Los Angeles dates include a 35mm screening at the Spielberg Theater on Nov. 13 with Papsidera, Mirojnick, Abel and Casny; a cast Q&A at the Academy Museum's Geffen Theater on Nov. 14 with Damon, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Himesh Patel and Elliot Page; and an Imax screening at Imax Playa Vista on Nov. 20.

What's on the ballot?

Universal's FYC (For Your Consideration) materials list the film across the major categories:

• Best Picture: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, based on Homer's "Odyssey"
• Actor: Matt Damon
• Supporting Actor: Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo
• Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Samantha Morton
• Original Score: Ludwig Göransson
• Original Song: "When I'm Home," written by James Blake, Göransson and Travis Scott
• Plus listings in casting (John Papsidera), cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), editing (Jennifer Lame), production design (Ruth De Jong), costume design (Ellen Mirojnick), makeup and hairstyling, sound and visual effects.

What does all this change for the race? It signals Universal intends to fight the "box office hit, not best picture" narrative on two fronts at once — billion-dollar scale and artisan-level craft — before any rival can define the film otherwise. With Spielberg, del Toro and Downey Jr. publicly vouching for Nolan's Homer adaptation, the campaign's first two weeks will test whether pedigree plus film-format evangelism can beat the billion-dollar curse.