The Big Picture
Oppenheimer’s success at the box office proves Christopher Nolan’s unmatched ability to draw audiences, even with a dense and lengthy biographical thriller. The film has become one of the top 10 highest-grossing R-rated movies both domestically and worldwide, standing at $238 million domestically and $578 million globally. Despite the “Barbenheimer” clash with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the publicity ended up benefiting both films, and it remains to be seen if Nolan will choose a new studio after severing ties with Warner Bros.
The success of Oppenheimer proves that director Christopher Nolan’s ability to draw audiences to theaters, regardless of what he’s offering them, remains absolutely unmatched. Who would’ve imagined that a dense, three-hour biographical thriller about the father of the atomic bomb would play like a superhero movie? But that’s exactly what Oppenheimer has done in the three weeks since its release.
And now, after having zoomed past the $550 million mark this past weekend, the film has added another feather to its cap. Oppenheimer is now among the 10 highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time, both domestically and worldwide. The film’s current stateside gross stands at an excellent $238 million. Oppenheimer has made $340 million from overseas territories, for a running global haul of $578 million. It is now Nolan’s fifth-biggest movie, behind The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar.
On Wednesday, the movie overtook 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop to enter the list of the top 10 biggest R-rated movies of all time at the domestic box office. Ahead of it are The Hangover Part II ($254 million), The Hangover ($277 million), The Matrix Reloaded ($281 million), Deadpool 2 ($324 million), It ($328 million), Joker ($335 million), American Sniper ($350 million), Deadpool ($363 million), and The Passion of the Christ ($370 million). As things stand, the movie shouldn’t have much trouble cracking the top five when all is said and done.
Image via Universal Studios
On the global chart, Oppenheimer overtook Fifty Shades of Grey ($570 million) to enter the top 10. It now trails The Hangover Part II ($586 million), Logan ($614 million), The Passion of the Christ ($622 million), the Chinese film Detective Chinatown 3 ($699 million), It ($701 million), The Matrix Reloaded ($738 million), Deadpool ($781 million), Deadpool 2 ($786 million), and Joker ($1.066 billion). It’s quite something to see an epic period film like Oppenheimer on a list dominated by genre titles.
“Barbenheimer” Benefited Both Movies
The film released alongside Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, in what came to be known as the “Barbenheimer” event. And as spectacular as Oppenheimer’s performance at the box office has been, it’s still approximately half of what Barbie has done, both globally and domestically. The satirical comedy, based on the popular Mattel property, has made more than $470 million domestically, and it recently became the second film of the year to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
While the “Barbenheimer” clash might have started off as Warner Bros.’ attempt to snark Nolan for having severed longstanding ties, the publicity ended up benefiting both movies. It remains to be seen if Nolan will shop around for a new studio now, after having chosen Universal to distribute Oppenheimer, or if he will return to his former home. He walked out of W.B. in protest of the studio’s controversial decision to release each film on its 2021 slate simultaneously on the Max streaming service, which was an affront to everything that Nolan stands for. Partially filmed on the IMAX format, Oppenheimer is a testament to his love for the big screen experience. You can watch our interview with Nolan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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