Oppenheimer’s Japan Release Breaks A 12 Year Christopher Nolan Box Office Record

Summary

• Oppenheimer
  is now Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing movie overseas thanks to its recent release in Japan.
• Oppenheimer
  has now made $640 million overseas, beating
  The Dark Knight Rises
  ‘ $634 million.
• Nolan’s next movie could be more conventionally commercial, meaning it could break this record again.

Oppenheimer‘s Japan release just broke a Christopher Nolan box office record that had been in place for 12 years. Chronicling the life and career of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, Nolan’s latest film has been a smash hit with both audiences and critics since its release in theaters last summer. The film just recently released in theaters in Japan following a lengthy period of deliberation due to the biopic’s subject matter, continuing the film’s hot streak.

Per a new report from Collider, Oppenheimer has now made $5.5 million at the box office over the course of its last two weeks of availability in Japan. This has pushed the film’s overseas tally to $640 million, beating The Dark Knight Rises‘ overseas total of $634 million to become Nolan’s highest-grossing movie outside of North America. See the chart below for Nolan’s top three highest-grossing movies overseas:

Oppenheimer
has made $329.9 million domestically for a worldwide total of $968.3 million.

When Could Christopher Nolan Break His New Oppenheimer Record?

The Director’s Next Project Could Be More Conventionally Commercial

When Oppenheimer was first announced, there was little indication that it would go on to become one of the director’s highest-grossing movies. The film, after all, is an R-rated historical drama that clocks in at more than three hours, all factors that can normally hinder box office performance. Thanks to the rave Oppenheimer reviews, stellar word of mouth, and hype from the Barbenheimer phenomenon, however, the movie has now made $968.3 million worldwide.

If there was any question whether Nolan’s name alone is enough to sell a film, there likely isn’t now. Eyes are already on the director regarding what he will tackle next, but nothing official has yet been announced. One report has suggested that Nolan’s next movie might be a remake of 1967 miniseries The Prisoner, a classic espionage thriller. If this is the case, Nolan’s next movie might be more conventionally commercial, potentially setting him up to break his new overseas record.

That being said, Tenet was an espionage thriller with a sci-fi twist, arguably more commercial on the surface than Oppenheimer is, and this film was a notable box office bomb. This movie did, however, release at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and earned somewhat mixed reviews. It remains to be seen what Nolan will do next, but Oppenheimer‘s triumph could set the filmmaker up for even greater success in the future.

Source: Collider