Japan Will Finally Release Oppenheimer Next Year After Barbenheimer Controversy

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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.

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 fanmade 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.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/07/oppenheimer-japan-release-date-delay-barbenheimer-backlash