JoltBlog

The Big Picture

• Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, has become the fourth-biggest film of the year and has broken into the list of the top five R-rated movies of all time.
• The film has made $720 million globally and is currently the fifth-biggest R-rated hit in global box office history.
• Domestically, Oppenheimer is the seventh-biggest R-rated movie ever, but it is expected to enter the top five in the coming days.

Now in its second month of release, director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is continuing to break box office records worldwide. It’s already the fourth-biggest film of the year so far — an extraordinary achievement for the kind of film that it is — and following its performance this past weekend, Oppenheimer has now broken into the list of the top five R-rated movies of all time.

The film passed the $700 million mark worldwide last Friday, and finished its fifth weekend with a global haul of $718 million. Having made $286 million domestically so far, and another $433 million from overseas territories, the film global haul stands at nearly $720 million. This puts it at the number five spot on the list of the biggest R-rated hits in history, ahead of 2017’s horror blockbuster It, which concluded its global theatrical run with $701 million.

The four movies currently in front of Oppenheimer are The Matrix Reloaded ($738 million), Deadpool ($781 million), Deadpool 2 ($786 million) and Joker ($1.066 billion). Other movies in the top 10 are The Hangover Part II ($586 million), Logan ($614 million), The Passion of the Christ ($622 million), and the Chinese film Detective Chinatown 3 ($699 million). Going by current trends, Oppenheimer will almost certainly overtake the two Deadpool movies and Matrix 2 before the end of its run, which means that it’ll likely finish as the second-biggest R-rated movie of all time when the dust settles. This is an incredible result for a dialogue-heavy three-hour epic about the end of the world.

Where Does the Movie Stand on the Domestic Side of Things?

Domestically, it’s the seventh-biggest R-rated movie ever, behind Deadpool 2 ($324 million), It ($328 million), Joker ($335 million), American Sniper ($350 million), Deadpool ($363 million) and The Passion of the Christ ($370 million). It should comfortably be able to crack the top five in the coming days. Released alongside fellow blockbuster Barbie in what has come to be known as the “Barbenheimer” event — a hugely publicized double-bill that delivered the goods — Oppenheimer has cemented Nolan’s stature has perhaps a bigger box office draw than most movie stars these days.

Starring Cillian Murphy, the film tells the complex story of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, best known as the father of the atomic bomb, and the crisis of conscience he experienced for his participation in the creation of the world's first nuclear weapons. The movie also features Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Florence Pugh in supporting roles. You can watch our interview with Nolan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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