Audiences in Japan will finally get to see Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan’s hit biopic about the creator of the nuclear bomb – following criticism that it was marketed in a way that trivialised the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The movie’s distributor in Japan, Bitters End, said on Thursday that the film, which examines J Robert Oppenheimer’s moral quandary over his key role in the world’s first nuclear attack on 6 August 1945, would be released in 2024.
In a statement carried in Japanese media, the firm said it had taken the decision after lengthy discussions that took into account the backlash it had sparked in Japan after it went on international release at the same time as the comedy movie Barbie in July.
“The film’s subject matter is of great importance and holds special meaning for Japanese people, so we decided to release it in Japan after various discussions and considerations,” Bitters End said.
Internet references to Barbie and Oppenheimer drew anger in Japan, which was twice attacked by nuclear weapons in the final days of the second world war.
Social media users blasted online “Barbenheimer” memes conflating Greta Gerwig’s comedy with Oppenheimer, a biopic of the physicist behind the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and, three days later, Nagasaki, killing an estimated 200,000 people.
Some shared memes and art combining the pink imagery of Barbie with mushroom clouds and explosions in Oppenheimer.
The official account of the Barbie movie on X, formerly known as Twitter, said in reply to one of the images: “It’s going to be a summer to remember”, accompanied by a blowing kiss emoji.
Barbie’s local distributor, Warner Bros Japan, later apologised for the now-deleted post. “We apologise to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions,” it said in a statement.
Oppenheimer opened in South Korea in August and proved a box office hit in China and other Asian markets, but no date was set for a Japan release, prompting some to ask if the country’s cinemas would ever show it.
Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as the “father” of the nuclear bomb, was also criticised by anti-nuclear groups for failing to depict the true horror of the devastation the bombs caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The destruction wrought on the two cities – which many in the US believe forced Japan to surrender several days later – is alluded to but not shown in the movie.
Oppenheimer’s commercial success may have been a factor in the Japanese distributor’s decision to relent; it has made more than $950m worldwide since its release in July.
