Just when you thought the Barbenheimer craze was beginning to die down, Christopher Nolan’s three-hour masterclass in getting audiences invested in people talking in rooms has only gone and checked off another huge benchmark, with Oppenheimer now the highest-grossing biopic in history.
To do so, it passed the seemingly-insurmountable $911 million of Bohemian Rhapsody, which managed to become a commercial and awards season sensation despite garnering reviews that weren’t anywhere near as enthusiastic as its earning power and trophy cabinet what lead you to believe.
Another important aspect to note is that Oppenheimer also stands to make money, something Rami Malek’s turn as Freddie Mercury didn’t do based on various reports to have dived deep into the murky world of Hollywood accounting. On the surface, selling that volume of tickets would paint the picture of an immensely profitable venture, but that may not have been the case.
Writer Anthony McCarten filed a breach of contract lawsuit against producer Graham King for loss of earnings in the aftermath of Bohemian Rhapsody‘s lucrative theatrical run, and the subsequent accounts released by studio 20th Century Fox seemingly confirmed the movie actually ended up $51 million in the red.
How does a film make close to a billion and still lose money? Absolutely no idea, but it’s not something the top-earning biographical drama in the history of cinema needs to bother itself with now that the crown has been placed upon the head of Oppenheimer. Nolan is a moneymaking machine for any studio, and even a period pace without a single action sequence has turned out to be a veritable goldmine.