“Oppenheimer” Opens at the Box Office in Japan with $2.5 Million

Even after “Oppenheimer” opened in theaters more than eight months ago (and one Oscar for best picture), Christopher Nolan’s historical epic continues to draw new viewers.

In its last region, Japan, the movie debuted this past weekend with $2.5 million from 343 cinemas. Following two local releases, the cartoon film “Haikyu!!” and the horror film “Strange House,” it came in third on the nation’s box office charts. “Oppenheimer” is the biggest Hollywood release in Japan for the first weekend of 2024, according to Universal Pictures, surpassing “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ($1.6 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($1.3 million).

“Oppenheimer” now has a startling $965 million in global ticket sales. For a three-hour R-rated drama that primarily takes place in labs and the corridors of US government, it’s an impressive total. The $100 million movie not only made a lot of money at the box office but also took home seven Oscars, including best picture and director.

Movies produced in the United States frequently make their Japanese premieres months after their North American premieres. However, there was conjecture before to “Oppenheimer’s” premiere as to whether the movie would even be shown in Japan.

Distributor Toho-Towa chose not to work with “Oppenheimer,” despite the fact that it releases most Hollywood movies in Japan. Until Bitters End scooped up the film in December “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter,” it appeared as though the film would not make it to Japan. Bitters End is now playing Japan’s Academy Award-nominated “Perfect Days,” and the company previously oversaw the release of the Oscar-winning “Parasite” in that country.

According to Universal, at the same stage of its release, “Oppenheimer” had initial ticket sales that were higher than those of “Interstellar,” “Batman Begins,” “Dunkirk,” and “The Dark Knight”; comparable to those of “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Tenet”; and lower than those of “Inception” in comparison to Nolan’s previous films. The director’s highest-grossing film in Japan is “Inception,” which took in $42 million. His two most recent films, “Tenet” and “Dunkirk,” brought in $25 million and $14.8 million, respectively, at the box office in that nation.