Universal starts Oscar push for The Odyssey with two weeks of screenings

Campaign starts

Christopher Nolan, producer Emma Thomas and star Matt Damon will appear in front of voters nearly every night for two weeks, Variety reported. Universal Pictures scheduled the run of screenings and Q&As for the week of 9 November.

Variety's 5 November awards chart projects 14 nominations for The Odyssey, the highest film total on the chart. That would tie All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land for the second-most nominations of all time, behind the record 16 that Sinners earned last year. Variety said The Odyssey could still tie or break that mark. The 14 projected nominations are not Academy nominations.

The field behind the leader

Dune: Part Three sits second on Variety's film chart at 12 projected nominations, La Bola Negra third at 11, Project Hail Mary fourth at 9 and Wild Horse Nine fifth at 6. Universal leads the studio chart with 16 projected nominations. A24 has 14, Netflix and Warner Bros. 13 each, Focus Features 11 and Amazon MGM Studios 9.

The Playlist reported on 21 October that The Odyssey, La Bola Negra and Wild Horse Nine were almost assuredly locked for best picture nods. It placed Project Hail Mary and The Debut in a separate likely tier, with Obsession, The Invite, Elsinore, Possible Love, Artificial, Digger, Club Kid, You Can See Everything, Fjord, Paper Tiger and Behemoth! in its possible group.

Three of the biggest unknowns had not screened for press or Academy members by 21 October, The Playlist reported: Dune: Part Three, Robert Eggers' Werwulf and David Fincher's The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. The Playlist still expected Dune: Part Three to make the best picture cut on track record. Variety's 5 November update named Dune: Part Three, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, Avengers: Doomsday and Werwulf as films still waiting in the wings that can shake up categories.

What happens next

The campaign runs alongside the Academy's calendar. The Governors Awards take place on 15 November 2026, where Glenn Close and Ridley Scott will receive honorary Oscars. Preliminary voting for Oscar shortlists in 12 categories runs from 7 to 11 December, with the shortlist announced on 15 December. The eligibility period closes on 31 December 2026.

Nominations voting runs from 11 to 15 January 2027. The Academy announces nominations on 21 January. The 99th Oscars ceremony takes place on 14 March 2027, hosted by Conan O'Brien and broadcast on ABC.