‘Oppenheimer’ passes ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to become most successful biopic ever

Oppenheimer has become the highest-grossing biopic of all time, surpassing previous record-holder Bohemian Rhapsody.

The Christopher Nolan film, which was released in July, follows the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer – dubbed the “father of the atomic bomb” – and the secretive Manhattan Project which created the first nuclear weapons during World War 2.

The feature has now grossed more than $912.7million (£736million) at the global box office, taking it past Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody‘s $910.8million (£734.5million) haul to make it the most successful biopic at the box office.

Bohemian Rhapsody was released in 2018 and stars Rami Malek (who also appears in Oppenheimer as nuclear physicist David L. Hill) as Freddie Mercury – a role for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Oppenheimer has already broken a number of box office records throughout its run, recently becoming the most successful World War 2-related film ever, and is the third highest-grossing film of 2023 behind Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

It is also director Nolan’s third highest-grossing film behind Batman blockbusters The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as the central character, with Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock.

In NME‘s five-star review of the film, we said: “Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking.

“For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can’t be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger.”

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