Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin about J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who was pivotal in developing the first nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project and thereby ushering in the Atomic Age. 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 is a co-production between Syncopy Inc. and Atlas Entertainment, with Nolan producing the film alongside Emma Thomas and Charles Roven.
The film was announced in September 2021 when Universal Pictures won the bidding war. Murphy was the first member of the cast to join, signing on to portray Oppenheimer in October, while the main cast signed on between November 2021 and April 2022. Pre-production was underway by January 2022 and filming began in the following month and wrapped that May, with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. It was filmed 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 with his previous works, Nolan utilised extensive practical effects and minimal computer-generated imagery. In its post-production, editing was completed by Jennifer Lame and the score was composed by Ludwig Göransson, as well as visual effects provided by DNEG.
Oppenheimer premiered at Le Grand Rex in Paris on July 11, 2023 and is scheduled to be theatrically released 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).