Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' film: a $100 million investment

After captivating audiences with films such as “Inception,” “Interstellar” and “Tenet,” acclaimed director Christopher Nolan returns with a new cinematic work, “Oppenheimer.” This time, Nolan delves into World War II history to tell the fascinating and complex story of Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist known as the "father of the atomic bomb."

The film, which centered on Cillian Murphy, cost around $100 million, making it the director's fourth most expensive film after Batman Begins ($150 million), Interstellar ($165 million), The Dark Knight ( $185 million), Tenet ($200 million) and The Dark Knight Rises ($250 million). With this extra budget, films are now under pressure to perform well at the box office in order to cover production and marketing costs. To cover all costs and break even, Oppenheimer must earn a minimum of $200 million, which would require the film to make a worldwide total of $250 million while hitting three times the budget to allow the box office to global office to reach 300 million dollars.

The film, which hits theaters on July 19, 2023, is based on the biography "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006. It promises to shed light on Oppenheimer's political, moral, personal and familial odysseys, from his contributions to science to his recruitment by the US government to lead the Manhattan Project in 1942, to his prosecution for communist sympathies during the witch hunt in the United States.

Cillian Murphy, known for his role as Thomas Shelby in the series "Peaky Blinders", plays Oppenheimer. Murphy, a regular Nolan collaborator, is joined by a star-studded cast that includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Rami Malek, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branagh, and more.

The film is rated R in the United States, meaning it is intended for adult audiences. With a running time of almost three hours, "Oppenheimer" is the longest film of Nolan's career. The first images of the film, which alternate between black and white sequences and fiery shots, suggest a work of particular intensity.

Oppenheimer faces stiff competition, releasing on the same day as Barbie later this week. It is still uncertain whether the film will be released in Japan, due to sensitivities surrounding the atomic bomb and World War II. On this subject, director Nolan said he wanted Oppenheimer to have the "widest possible audience in the world", but noted that "movies don't come out everywhere at the same time, so we're waiting to see what what happens with other markets.