New Delhi, July 24 -- Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster, The Odyssey, had a suitably epic opening weekend. The film grossed $264.1 million, becoming the biggest global launch in Nolan's career. With such overwhelming enthusiasm from moviegoers, the right-wing backlash surrounding The Odyssey-concerning everything from casting decisions to the modern-day dialogue and American accents-has sunk without a trace, not unlike some of Odysseus' ill-fated crew.

That the film successfully weathered a social media storm is a reminder that visibility and consensus are not necessarily the same thing. The answer is not that studios should ignore audience sentiment altogether. But they should stop treating every online controversy as if each carri...