After scooping up seven Oscars ¡ª including best picture ¡ª and grossing over $950 million at the box office, Christopher Nolan¡¯s ¡°Oppenheimer¡± has definitely earned its place among the most successful biopics in cinema. A sweeping tale about the so-called father of the atomic bomb, which was used to destroy two Japanese cities and killed hundreds of thousands of civilians during World War II, ¡°Oppenheimer¡± toppled global box-office records after it was released worldwide ¡ª except for in this country.
Last summer, the film¡¯s simultaneous release alongside Greta Gerwig¡¯s blockbuster comedy ¡°Barbie¡± led to the emergence of ¡°Barbenheimer¡± memes, which were poorly received by Japanese social media users. This controversy, as well as a lingering sensitivity toward the subject matter and the release date¡¯s proximity to the anniversaries of the bombings, kept ¡°Oppenheimer¡± off screens until now ¡ª Nolan¡¯s film will finally hit cinemas here on Friday. In an official statement, distributor Bitter End said: ¡°The film¡¯s subject matter is of great importance and holds special meaning for Japanese people, so we decided to release it in Japan after various discussions and considerations.¡±
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