Christopher Nolan Makes Move From Warner Bros. to Universal
Acclaimed director Christopher Nolan has found a home for his latest high profile project at Universal.
Christopher Nolan’s films have been a Warner Bros. staple for years. However, partly due to Warner Bros.’ handling of the release of Nolan’s 2020 film Tenet which resulted in mediocre box-office results, Nolan has made the move to Universal for his latest film. That upcoming project is a movie about World War II scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer is one of the primary developers of the atom bomb. Oppenheimer was previously portrayed in the 1989 film Fat Man and Little Boy which starred Dwight Schultz as Oppenheimer as well as Paul Newman who portrayed Leslie Groves.
Christopher Nolan had a long history doing projects for Warner Bros. 2002’s Insomnia was released by the studio and from there on, almost all of Nolan’s projects were made for Warner Bros. The Prestige was the rare exception. The reason for Nolan’s move to Universal is due to the fact that Warner Bros. started offering their new movies on HBO Max the same day they premiered in theaters as a way of dealing with the pandemic’s impact on the movie industry. Nolan is a firm believer in the theatrical movie experience and believes streaming is not an ideal way to see a new film. For his upcoming film, Nolan believes a theatrical release is pivotal to maintain the integrity of the filmmaker’s vision.
Nolan’s The Dark Knight films are some of the biggest money makers of all-time. The Dark Knight, itself, won its co-star Heath Ledger a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Joker. Nolan was nominated for an Academy Award himself for Best Director for 2017’s masterpiece Dunkirk.
Tenet was released theatrically during, perhaps, the peak of the pandemic and didn’t have a premiere the same date on HBO Max as the day it opened in theaters. It only earned $58 million domestically at the box-office but its less than stellar “B” CinemaScore grade may suggest it wasn’t just the release time that worked against the film. Some people actually found the film confusing. However, even with that “B” grade, the film certainly should have earned at least $100 million domestically with stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson and Kenneth Branagh alongside its massive budget. Nolan’s previous “confusing” 2010 blockbuster Inception grossed $292 million domestically.
Sony and Paramount were among other options as studios for Nolan’s newest picture about Oppenheimer but the project has ultimately landed at Universal where it will hopefully get the big screen treatment that will hopefully result in a bigger box-office take for the upcoming film than the one seen for Tenet.
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