Unlike many other new releases, don’t expect Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer to arrive on streaming anytime soon. The director is famously a champion of theatrical releases for his films, and his latest epic about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb is no different.
When Nolan ended his partnership with Warner Bros. and began working with Universal for the release of Oppenheimer, they made a deal on a guaranteed theatrical release window. Back in 2021, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley confirmed they’d accommodate at least a 100-day window between cinematic release and digital release (H/T Screen Daily).
This means that the very earliest the movie will be heading to streaming is the very end of October or early November. When it does arrive, it will likely first be available to rent on digital platforms before going to Universal’s streaming platform, Peacock.
But now Oppenheimer is in cinemas, we’d recommend seeing it on the biggest screen possible, if you’re able to. Shot using IMAX cameras, Nolan’s latest was made for the cinematic experience, and he even developed a special IMAX camera to film certain sequences as well.
Oppenheimer is out in theaters now. For more on the movie, we spoke to director Nolan about deciding to commit to the R-rating of the film, its blockbuster status, and why he didn’t want to bring judgment into the narrative. We also spoke to lead actor Cillian Murphy about working with Nolan on their sixth film together.
