Nolan's new film will cost $200 million and the box office will be at least $400 million to make a profit

Foreign media Variety reported that Nolan's new film "Oppenheimer" may be the last film of this type. The film is set during World War II and the story revolves around Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb". Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey Jr., it will be released in North America on July 21, 2023.

According to reports, the film "Oppenheimer" supported by Universal Pictures will be released in 2023 and will need to "overcome all difficulties" to achieve commercial success. In addition to the $100 million production budget, the film will need to spend another $100 million on global publicity. In addition, Nolan's contract guarantees that he can get a certain percentage of the box office share, so this film will cost $50-60 million more than similar-sized films to make a profit. Therefore, foreign media predict that "Oppenheimer" will have to reach at least $400 million in global box office to make a profit.

Variety points out that few traditional studios invest nine figures in a movie that is not adapted from a popular toy, novel or comic. Even before the epidemic disrupted the film landscape, superheroes and science fiction were still the most attractive to audiences, and there was nothing else. This reality makes it difficult for Hollywood to give the green light to big-investment movies that are not based on existing IP. And such movies are riskier, not only in terms of recovering costs, but also in terms of profits, sequels and derivatives. After all, no matter how much the audience likes Nolan's movies, it is impossible to print Oppenheimer's face on T-shirts or lunch boxes.

However, foreign media also pointed out that Nolan's movies have not had a problem with box office in the past decade, with the only exception being "Tenet". The film was released during the pandemic and still took in $363 million at the global box office. However, the production cost of "Tenet" exceeded $200 million, so it is actually difficult for the film to make a profit. In comparison, Nolan's other films have performed very well:

Inception (2010): $836 million worldwide

Interstellar (2014): $701 million worldwide

Dunkirk (2017): $526 million worldwide

People who follow the film industry closely point out that "Oppenheimer" will not be a gripping suspense film like "Inception" or "Memento" that audiences expect. Instead, it is a historical drama based on facts and physics. "Dunkirk" tells the heroic deeds of British troops in the early days of World War II, while "Oppenheimer" tells a darker story, one that exists in the moral dark side of the past. It is not only very controversial, but also very American. This may limit the interest of overseas audiences, where Nolan's film revenue tends to mainly come from.