‘Oppenheimer’ reaches new box office milestone internationally

Oppenheimer continues to break records around the world, and now the film has become Christopher Nolan’s biggest Box Office hit overseas.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

The biopic profiles Robert J. Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), the real-life American physicist who played a pivotal role in the creation of the atomic bomb in World War II. The film has garnered over $960million (£757million) worldwide to date at the Box Office.

Last week, the film received its long-awaited release in Japan where it opened to mixed reviews.

Often dubbed ‘the father of the atomic bomb’, Oppenheimer was instrumental in the creation of the nuclear weapons that were used in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict in human history. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens were killed.

The release of the film in the country has proved critical, with the mayor of Hiroshima saying (via Associated Press): “From Hiroshima’s standpoint, the horror of nuclear weapons was not sufficiently depicted. The film was made in a way to validate the conclusion that the atomic bomb was used to save the lives of Americans.”

Many have accused Nolan’s film of being insensitive to Japan and its harrowing past. Spike Lee previously questioned why the movie doesn’t show the impact the atomic bombs had on the Japanese public, with the film focusing solely on the US side of the events.

Despite this, the opening in Japan saw the film become Nolan’s biggest ever release overseas, ahead of films such as Inception and The Dark Knight.

Oppenheimer added $1.6million (£1.26million) in its second weekend in Japan, where it has so far accumulated $5.5million (£4.34 million). This took the film’s overseas total to $640 million (£504million).

The film remains Nolan’s third-biggest hit globally, behind The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises — both of which have grossed over a billion each.

Oppenheimer was the biggest winner at this year’s BAFTAs, winning a total of seven, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Murphy. It also proved successful at this year’s Oscars, taking home seven prizes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

In a five-star review of the film, NME shared: “Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking. For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can’t be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger.”

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