Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical thriller film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons on the Manhattan Project. The film stars Cillian Murphy as the title character, with a supporting ensemble cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.
The film was announced in September 2021 when Universal Pictures won the bidding war. Filming began in late February 2022 and wrapped that May. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the film in a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film—including, for the first time, sections in IMAX black-and-white analog photography. As on his previous works, Nolan utilized extensive practical effects and minimal computer-generated imagery.
Oppenheimer premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on July 11, 2023 and is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom and United States on July 21, 2023, by Universal Pictures. It is Nolan's first film not to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures domestically or internationally since Memento (2000), as well as his first film to receive an R rating since Insomnia (2002).
