In the latest remarkable milestone passed byChristopher Nolan’sOppenheimer, the movie’s Friday takings at the domestic box office has now taken it to third in the director’s domestic box office table, aboveInception. The film grossed an estimated $2.25 million on Friday, which brings its domestic gross to $293.27 million. It’s unlikely to get higher than 3rd now, but that isn’t a criticism as the two films above it areThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises.
Inception, the sci-fi epic about a team of professional thieves who perform a daring “dream heist” to plant an idea inside the head of a target, had previously sat in third on Nolan’s roster with $292.59 million domestically.Oppenheimeris still over $100 million behindInceptionworldwide, but anything is possible at this rate. Both films starCillian Murphy, who leadsOppenheimeras the titular character.
The three-hour biopic aboutJ. Robert Oppenheimer, the director behind the secretive Manhattan Project which was the birthplace of the first nuclear weapon, has performed remarkably across the world, and is alreadythe fourth-biggest film of the year worldwide. The film’s global tally stands at $731.86 million to date, a staggering tally given the limited number of screenings a film of its length can realistically have.
‘Oppenheimer’s Place in R-Rated Box Office History
The film also recently became the fifth-highest grossing R-rated film of all time, surpassingIt, which ended its global run with $701 million. Next in line onOppenheimer’s target list isThe Matrix Reloaded, which it is guaranteed to pass in the next week ($738 million).Deadpooland its sequelDeadpool 2are both realistic goals at $781 million and $786 million respectively, and when all is said and done, the film should sit second behindJoker($1.066 billion) on the R-rated table.
Oppenheimer’s unique appeal on IMAX has given it a further boost, and with the combination of high demand to see it on the premium large screen format, a lack of new releases in the first few months of 2024 due to the ongoing strikes, and a highly likely awards push from Universal should guarantee a re-release in the early part of 2024, and propel the film even further up the box office charts.
Alongside Murphy, the movie also featuresEmily Blunt,Robert Downey Jr.,Matt Damon,Florence Pughand many others in supporting roles. You can watch our interview with Nolan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
