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Oppenheimer had high expectations from audiences when it released in July 2023, but it appears even director Christopher Nolan wasn't ready for the film's massive success.
The director sat down with his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas at the Graduate Center for the City University of New York to discuss his latest film, the process of adapting Oppenheimer's life to the big screen, and more. When talking on the film's massive box office and critical success, Nolan admitted it “vastly exceeded” their expectations at release. It wasn't that they didn't believe Oppenheimer wasn't going to be a success, in some form, but for it to reach the heights it did was an “encouraging thing for Hollywood” and “for filmmakers.”
Christopher Nolan says ‘OPPENHEIMER’ “vastly exceeded our highest expectations.”
“Any time a film succeeds that wasn’t expected to succeed, it’s an encouraging thing for Hollywood and it’s encouraging for filmmakers.”
(Source: https://t.co/D9okjvHLPt) pic.twitter.com/AtOPnwLCR2
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 19, 2023
At the time, there were questions about how Oppenheimer would perform as it was releasing head-to-head against Barbie, spawning a plethora of Barbenheimer memes as people debated which one they'd see first. It turns out these concerns were pointless as Oppenheimer was met with near-universal acclaim for its depiction of J. Robert Oppenheimer, with many critics speculating Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy could be tasting award gold in the near future.
Oppenheimer dominated at the box office, as well, bringing in just over $942 million during its theatrical run and becoming the second highest-grossing R-rated film in history, behind 2019's Joker.
Success isn't anything new to Nolan's films, though, as he has become one of the most beloved and admired directors in modern cinema. His Batman trilogy is widely regarded as three of the best comic book movies ever made, bringing DC's Caped Crusader and his rogues to the big screen in a way that was more grounded than any other adaptation beforehand. He's also shown a willingness to tackle complex themes and ideas with films such as Inception and Interstellar, with the latter gaining praise from the scientific community for it accuracy of black holes and the actual theories surrounding the celestial phenomenon.
