Oppenheimer on track to break unusual box office record

Amid the ongoing success of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, the biographical epic about the father of the atomic bomb is on track to break a rather unusual box office record. 

Oppenheimer is nothing short of a global phenomenon, having already made it to the top 10 highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time with its $650 million box office haul and a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Sure, it’s not earned as much as Barbie – which dropped on the same day – but 1) this isn’t a movie based on a toy and 2) it’s for adult audiences only. Oppenheimer is a masterful examination of the Manhattan Project, the creation of the world’s first nuke, and the man at the center of it.

Thanks to such a huge demand, Nolan’s latest project has just extended its IMAX run so audiences can make the most of seeing it on the biggest screen possible – and now the film is set to break another box office record. 

Oppenheimer set to break unusual box office record

This week, as Oppenheimer hit new box office targets, it was revealed that Christopher Nolan’s historical flick is on track to be the highest-grossing US movie that never hit the number one spot at the domestic box office. 

According to Box Office Mojo, Oppenheimer – which is in second place in the domestic chart, behind Barbie – has earned $270,024,705 in ticket sales in the US. 

This means it’s just shy of the $270,395,425 made by the current record holder, Sing, which was beaten in the US ranking by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story when the movies dropped back in 2016. 

So, if Oppenheimer makes just over $370,000 in sales, it will officially kick the animated feature off of top spot and earn the unusual title. 

And Nolan’s epic looks set to rake in a lot more, especially given it’s extending its run in IMAX 70mm screens right through to the end of August due to demand. 

Although the film was originally scheduled to run on the big screens until August 17, now it will play until August 31, when it will be replaced by The Equalizer 3, followed by Dune Part II in November.

Oppenheimer is in cinemas now. You can check out our other coverage below:

Oppenheimer review | Ending explained | Epic runtime revealed | R-rating explained | Best way to watch Oppenheimer | Christopher Nolan on sex scenes | Cast and characters | Filming locations | True story explained | Is Oppenheimer streaming? | Nolan ranked by Rotten Tomato scores | Is it based on a book? | Age-gap controversy explained | How Oppenheimer died | Christopher Nolan explains strange script | Did Japan ban Oppenheimer? | Review roundup | Does Oppenheimer have a post-credits scene? | Box office | Was Jean Tatlock murdered? | What happened to Kitty? | Why you struggle to hear Nolan’s movies | Oppenheimer’s improvised line | Could Oppenheimer earn $1bn? | Riverdale’s Oppenheimer-esque episode