Universal Is Skipping Influencer Screenings for ‘The Odyssey.’ Film Critics Are Thrilled

From the moment it was announced in late 2024, Christopher Nolan’s ambitious adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey has been a source of intense debate for the world’s keyboard warriors.

The higher-level disputes concern questions of how to translate the ancient Greek epic to the screen and the relative importance of accurate period detail. The ugly gutter fights are about the film’s diverse casting and its supposedly “woke” slant on the source material.

But whatever they imagine the film to be, the internet’s clout-chasers and tastemakers won’t be the ones to offer first impressions from actual screenings. In a sign of apparent confidence reported by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, Universal Studios has opted to skip the previews it typically holds for influencers. These screenings, common throughout the industry, tend to generate effusive praise on social media and fan blogs that can soften the blow of mixed or negative reviews from professional critics.

While it should be noted that any number of TikTok and YouTube content creators will still get to see the film ahead of its release along with the press, the decision to not directly court their buzz has proved widely popular—not least with the film critics themselves, many of whom plan to attend Odyssey screenings after its July 7 global premiere in London.

Scott Mantz, a cofounder of the Hollywood Critics Association, wasn’t one to undersell his approval of the move. “GOOD!!” he wrote in a post reacting to the news on X. “Because EVERYONE knows those so-called ‘influencer’ social media reactions are TOTAL BULLSHIT.”

Other writers were a bit more tongue-in-cheek, if seemingly pleased as well; IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich joked on X that “this is what Homer would have wanted.” Some wondered if the snub could be the sign of a developing trend. “Good on Universal!” wrote Kristen Lopez, editor-in-chief of the independent newsletter The Film Maven, on X. “Interesting to see if other studios follow suit (though I’d lean towards no).”

Tim Grierson, senior US critic for Screen International, tells WIRED that skipping the influencer showings is a “great” idea. “Actual film critics have gotten used to how the studios try to diminish whatever importance we have by often letting influencers be the first people to sound off on a film,” he says. “It's just another way in which Hollywood tries to instill the idea that some new piece-of-crap blockbuster is really ‘for the fans, not the critics.’”

Instead, Universal is betting on the old-fashioned publicity cycle. “Essentially, the studio is declaring that it doesn't need influencers—who tend to be very gushy and uncritical—to bolster the film's initial word-of-mouth,” Grierson says. At the same time, he notes, “it was also a canny move on Nolan's part, because now whoever does get invited to a press screening—including influencers, who will see it at the same time as the rest of us—will feel like, ‘Oh wow, Christopher Nolan values me as a smart, professional critic!’”

“Whether or not that's intentional, it's certainly not the worst way to endear yourself to the people responsible for evaluating your movie,” says Grierson, who expects to review the movie himself. (And who knows, maybe critics who feel their work is receiving the respect it deserves are slightly more inclined to write favorably of a film.)

While a handful of aggrieved anti-woke crusaders claim that elevating the response of establishment critics over hot takes from internet personalities indicates a fear that The Odyssey is in for major right-wing backlash, there’s no reason to suspect that anyone at Universal is sweating right now. The film is on track for a massive opening of $80 million to $100 million, and movie theater apps and websites were instantly overloaded when tickets went on sale earlier this month. It shattered the record for most seats sold in a 24-hour period at BFI Imax, which features the largest screen in the UK, and showings in premium Imax and 70-mm formats rapidly sold out across the US, leading scalpers to list tickets for as much as $1,000 on eBay.

Grierson says he doesn’t assume that cutting out influencers will become the norm for the Hollywood marketing machine, though he does wonder if it could catch on for certain projects. “It would become its own weird stamp of approval,” he says. “‘No, seriously, this extremely hyped film is actually good—you don't have to take the word of the influencers we helped cultivate to do our shilling for us!’”

Maybe, then, people would start to reengage with the kind of artistic analysis that can’t be reduced to a breathless sound bite. Especially when you’re talking about an attempt to bring some of humanity’s oldest surviving literature to life on a movie screen, it’s not much to ask for.