Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer opens in Japan. Photo Courtesy: X/@Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' minted $2.5 million from 343 theatres in Japan, the final country where the movie released nearly a year after it was released globally.
Oppenheimer emerged as one of the most successful movies of 2023 when the worldwide Box Office clash witnessed a battle between the Christopher Nolan-directed film and Barbie.
According to Universal Pictures, “Oppenheimer” is the biggest opening weekend of 2024 for a Hollywood release in Japan, surpassing “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ($1.6 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($1.3 million), reported Variety.
In Japan, it is facing challenge from local releases “Strange House” and the animated “Haikyu!!”.
With these ticket sales, “Oppenheimer” stands at a staggering $965 million globally, Variety reported.
The success of the film in Japan was doubted ahead of the releaseof it.
It’s controversial in Japan given the subject matter of the film, which follows the American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) who led the creation of the atomic bombs, reported Vareity.
The weapons of mass destruction were detonated in 1945 over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing Japanese citizens.
Oppenheimer dominates Oscars
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the epic story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the first atomic bomb, swept the Oscars night last month at the 96th Academy Awards, winning the Best Movie laurel, along with six other awards.
Nolan's blockbuster biopic on the life of Oppenheimer, who was torn between a guilt conscience and remorsefulness over the atomic bomb's catastrophic effects after the bombs were dropped in Japan at the fag end of the Second World War, won the honors for best director (Nolan), best actor (Cillian Murphy), best supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), best cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema), best film editing (Jennifer Lame) and best original score (Ludwig Göransson).
Receiving the award, Murphy said, "We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb and for better or for worse, we are all living in Oppenheimer's world, so I'd like to dedicate to the peacemakers everywhere."