O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers’ adaptation of The Odyssey, is trending on streaming – watch it now before Christopher Nolan’s arrives next year. Written and directed by the Coen brothers, loosely based on Homer’s Ancient Greek poem, the 2000 musical comedy centers on three escaped prisoners on a quest for hidden treasure in rural Mississippi in 1937.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?‘s cast includes several frequent Coen brother collaborators – including George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, and Holly Hunter – alongside Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning, Daniel von Bargen, Wayne Duvall, Ray McKinnon, Frank Collison, Michael Badalucco, Stephen Root, Lee Weaver, Mia Tate, Musetta Vander, and Christy Taylor.
Now, ahead of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey next year, O Brother, Where Art Thou? ranks third on Hulu’s Top 10 movies in the United States for today, September 12, where it has been for the past three days. It ranks below Bedazzled and World War Z, and above The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and John Wick: Chapter 4.
It also ranks above I Am Number Four, Need for Speed, Night at the Museum, The Other Woman, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, She’s the Man, The Devil Wears Prada, Abducted in the Everglades, and Mean Girls (2004).
What O Brother, Where Art Thou?’s Streaming Success Means For The Movie
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is trending on streaming less than a year out from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which releases in theaters on July 17, 2026. However, the two adaptations couldn’t be more different. The Coen brothers’ version is only loosely inspired by The Odyssey, with the only connections being elements such as the Sirens, a Cyclops, and the protagonist’s name “Ulysses,” the Roman version of “Odysseus.”
The тιтle itself is a reference to the 1941 film Sullivan’s Travels, in which the main character, an aspiring director, dreams of making a movie called O Brother, Where Art Thou?, based on a fictional novel about the Great Depression.
Furthermore, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a musical that prominently features traditional folk music from the era, further separating it from its source material. On the other hand, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is expected to be a much more straightforward but nevertheless ambitious adaptation. With a $250 million budget, it’s the most expensive of Nolan’s career and the first major blockbuster sH๏τ entirely on 70mm IMAX film.
Our Take On O Brother, Where Art Thou?’s Streaming Success
Even though O Brother, Where Art Thou? is only a loose adaptation of The Odyssey, it’s still worth watching to see the Coen brothers’ take on the source material before Christopher Nolan’s arrives next year. Even if it only borrows bits and pieces from Homer’s epic, the Coens’ version is still a clever and soulful spin on the myth.
Its mix of Depression-era Americana, satire, and folk music makes O Brother, Where Art Thou? a unique viewing experience. Watching it now could offer the perfect counterpoint to whatever Nolan has in store next year.
