Before its release this summer, most people might not have pegged Oppenheimer as yet another Christopher Nolan blockbuster. Prognosticators most certainly wouldn’t have had it down as a movie that would outdo the grosses of 2008’s The Dark Knight on the international stage. And yet, the biographical drama starring Cililan Murphy has exceeded such limitations, with this past weekend bringing some wild stats to the table for this three hour, R-rated crowd pleaser.
While reporting on the box office phenomenon, Deadline gathered a handful of some really impressive feats that Universal’s big-ticket offering has racked up amid its most recent round of business. And as you’ll see below, some regional specific milestones are something to truly behold, including the tidbit involving that acclaimed Batman film:
- To date, Oppenheimer has scored an international take of $477.2M to date; just edging out The Dark Knight’s international grosses of $471.2 mil.
- Italy's first five days running Oppenheimer have already outgrossed Tenet's entire run in that country, with Dunkirk looking to be bested in its second week.
- Greece saw Oppenheimer earn the largest opening day/weekend for a Christopher Nolan movie, and it's also notched the country's largest opening day for 2023.
- $154.5M of Oppenheimer's worldwide grosses come from IMAX venues, with $70.4M coming from overseas screens. Those respective figures land the film as the fifth largest IMAX release overall, as well as the sixth highest internationally.
- Oppenheimer is now the highest grossing Christopher Nolan movie in France, Germany, and Spain.
Italy and Greece in particular stand out as interesting points of data in this collection of Oppenheimer facts. Considering that Tenet was released into the world amid one of the higher points of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not surprising that Italy would see the entire lifetime gross of that film surpassed. Especially when the 2020 sci-fi thriller $365.3 million worldwide take was handily eclipsed pretty early in this new juggernaut's run.
With 2017’s Dunkirk also lined up to fall in the coming days certainly, this situation certainly makes for an interesting comparison between the latest Christopher Nolan film and the director's previous efforts. Also of note is the fact that the Oppenheimer cast's work is being shown in beautiful, open-air cinema locations in Greece; a venue that makes up a staggering majority of that country’s exhibition of this picture.
And naturally, Christopher Nolan’s preferred IMAX 70mm format for the historical epic has been a dominating presence in its path to financial glory. It's secured a pretty notable international standing as the sixth highest grossing film for the premium large format brand. Perhaps it’s time for the company to start thinking about what it’d take to build more true IMAX venues after all.
There’s still some fresh territory ahead for the Memento helmer's latest blockbuster, as the Chinese debut of Oppenheimer is set to take place this week. How the film performs in that market will undoubtedly be of great interest, as whatever happens in China could potentially help push those worldwide totals closer to a potential $1 billion showing.
Though if that were to happen, this movie would only need to shoot $6.3 million over that mark to overtake The Dark Knight totally. Could we see a world where Oppenheimer bests this Bruce Wayne-centric sequel? Only time will tell, as you can still catch Christopher Nolan’s latest in theaters throughout worldwide markets. However, if you want to revisit The Dark Knight Trilogy, or just the iconic 2008 entry from that series, you can do so through the power of a Max subscription.
