In recent weeks, Christopher Nolan's magnificent historical blockbuster Oppenheimer has been released on Blu-ray. Within days, discs were nowhere to be found, whether in stock at online retailers or on the shelves of physical stores. At a time when the physical medium seemed to be dying, pushed to the brink of extinction by the convenience of streaming, this so-called "home** release" was so sought-after that it began to be sold in the form of an outdated, long-unreleased classic film that was the anomalous power of a pop culture craze whose success we are still looking for new ways to quantify.
By most scoreboards, "Oppenheimer" is a 2023 movie. Many fans – including the author of this article himself – believe it's actually the best film of the year: a dazzling feast for the mind that sees the subject — the dark legacy of the so-called "Father of the Atomic Bomb" — as a chain reaction of politics, philosophy, and existentialism. However, even aside from the question of its artistic value, Oppenheimer still occupies an incredibly important place in the film industry. No other production has such a perfect blend of multiplex popularity, rabid acclaim, and popular cultural curiosity. Even Barbie, a cheerful, brightly colored element that contrasts with the depressed, understated dark side of Oppenheimer, no other work has achieved such a perfect blend.
Although Nolan's films are still somewhat tied to Greta Jegoff's films – their simultaneous releases fueled a playful race for hot hashtags and, through internet enthusiasm, evolved into a mutually beneficial cross-generational dual-signature concept. However, after weeks of sold-out screenings, Oppenheimer's record-breaking performance cannot be attributed entirely to the Bapenheimer effect. And when Barbie decisively wins the box office battle, surpassing expectations from all other films released in the past 12 months, her own astonishing success looks more likely than people waiting in long lines to watch a three-hour drama about quantum physics.
Now, with the annual box office dominated by intellectual property geared towards all ages, Oppenheimer has broken the toy box – and outpaced most films that haven't. You'd have to go back nearly a decade to "American Sniper" to find such an appealing top-of-the-list title — or even earlier, find a cinematic event that is so serious and full of historical significance. Released in a select July window, "Oppenheimer" evokes the huge impact of 1998's "Saving Private Ryan," the leader of one of Nolan's most obvious icons, Steven Spielberg's "Greatest Generation." According to best estimates, there is only about once every decade when a reasonable R-rated film is a huge success.
Even in the more limited field of phenomena, Oppenheimer is an outlier. There is no precedent for such a specific pattern of such a rare recipe for success. It's a war movie without war – that is, without the action movie hooks that make Sniper and Ryan appealing to doping fans. It's a black-and-white, mathematically structured, expensive studio tower with men in rooms discussing scientific theories or going through beltway interrogations. According to the calculations of any normal accountant, such a film will not make a hundred million dollars.
Of course, clever blockbusters are Nolan's specialty. No other filmmaker has built such brand loyalty as he has – the kind of household name status that's quite amazing given the addictively structured, intricately nested thrilling stories he's created, like "Inception" or "Dunkirk." But "Oppenheimer" proved that he has the ability to turn almost any premise into a money-making cash cow.
It also confirms that the writer-director's name has established itself as powerful as a globally recognized superhero icon;Fifteen years on, The Dark Knight put him in the A-list category, and Nolan has now completely shaken off the shadow of Batman and brought audiences into his world. After all, at a time when superhero movies are going downhill in 2023, "Oppenheimer" outperformed them – a film starring a revived Robert Downey that brought his best performance in years.
Something so heavy and frustrating, but being able to touch the hearts of so many viewers – is a strange aspect of this success story. Oppenheimer is more than just a drive for endless conversations and processes. It is a great misfortune: a big-man biopic that argues that its great men basically destroyed the world. Is it because of its apocalyptic atmosphere behind the film's huge success?Did the audience find a mirror that reflected their panic about new technology?While filming a new disaster scene, he said, "Are our dreams too big?".Many of the new headlines are filled with alarming messages about the proliferation of new artificial intelligence – and this playbook paints a picture.
post by tom