When’s The Best Time To Go To The Bathroom During ‘The Odyssey’?

By Jackson Langford - News

Updated: 6 August, 2026

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Readtime: 5 min

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• Christopher Nolan’s latest epic ‘The Odyssey’ goes for a staggering 172 minutes.
• Despite being adapted from an almost 3000-year-old text, people are stressed about missing key moments.
• Luckily, there are four moments in Nolan’s adaptation of Odysseus’ journey that will be safe for you to pop to the bathroom.

Haven’t seen Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey yet? Despite the buzz, you’re not alone. Tickets to the latest adaptation of Homer’s epic are in such high demand, especially in IMAX 70mm-capable theatres, that they’re being resold on online marketplaces for hundreds of dollars. Clearly, this is a movie no-one wants to miss while it’s in cinemas. Not even a moment.

Not missing a moment means holding out for the bathroom. But doing that for an almost-three-hour blockbuster is a hard ask, regardless of whether you opt for the buckets of soda cinemas call a ‘small’. With tickets being so hard to come by, it’s completely understandable that you’d want to resist nature’s calling until it causes you physical pain while watching Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and more retell one of history’s most famous tales.

In a review for Man of Many, Chad Kennerk wrote, “There is a reason why some tales are timeless, and The Odyssey’s lessons are well worth another listen. It also happens to be one of the best action films of the decade. Consider this your call to set sail.”

But, luckily for us all, there are a few quieter instances amongst all the action, islands, monsters and the like that seem purpose-built for you to pop to the bathroom. Specifically, there are four moments throughout The Odyssey’s runtime where you can leave your seat, go handle your business, and return without missing too much. These are the best time to go to the bathroom during The Odyssey.

4 Best Moments To Use The Bathroom During ‘The Odyssey’

27 Minutes

The first act of Nolan’s The Odyssey is truly about setting the scene. We learn why Penelope and Telemachus are holed up in Ithaca, and get flashbacks to Odysseus farewelling his home before heading to Troy and… doing all that. Once the Trojan Horse has been wheeled in and Odysseus is ready to return, he speaks for a while about how he anticipates smooth sailing and even getting home ahead of schedule!

Spoiler alert: the sailing is not smooth and he’s not getting home ahead of schedule.

In any case, while the tonal shift of the film looms, you can mentally prepare yourself by going to the bathroom and not missing anything too important.

1 hour

This one’s a bit risky depending on what you came to see The Odyssey for. Did you come for heartstopping, tenser-than-tense action sequences? You might wanna hold your pee through this timestamp.

However, if you’re OK with forgoing a brief bit of action so you can go to the toilet and not miss anything that’ll ruin your experience of the film, then one hour in is your call for a break. Odysseus fears he’s double-crossed Poseidon, he and his crew encounter a rough patch at sea, a rougher patch with some large locals on land, but nothing crucial to the story itself occurs. If you need a bathroom break toward the hour mark, go and take it.

1 hour 45 minutes

As we approach the final act, Odysseus is battling with the prophecy he’s just heard and is keeping secret from his crewmates. And, to the surprise of no-one, Eurylochus and co. are pressing Odysseus for his secrets.

It’s a three-to-four minute back and forth as Odysseus stays hush on what he was told at Hades, which means you’ve got three-to-four minutes to run to the toilet and back to your seat without anything major happening (except for an untimely end for some cattle).

2 hour 10 minutes

The movie’s final act is upon us, meaning you’ve got limited seconds to relieve yourself. But there is a brief sequence where Telemachus is sneaking a disguised beggar into the Ithacan castle before seating among Penelope’s suitors. Once you see that disguise donned, it’s your cue to run (don’t walk) to the bathroom and make haste coming back.

Once you sit back down, strap yourself in for one of the most action-packed final sequences of recent cinema.

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• ‘The Odyssey’ Review: Does Christopher Nolan’s Epic Live Up To The Hype?
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