Home Entertainment How Christopher Nolan bounced back from Tenet to make £750m at the box office with Oppenheimer, writes ALISON BOSHOFF

How Christopher Nolan bounced back from Tenet to make £750m at the box office with Oppenheimer, writes ALISON BOSHOFF

by Merry
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Oppenheimer's huge box office success has earned him £750,000,000 ($957,000,000) worldwide... and counting (Christopher Nolan pictured with Cillian Murphy)

Oppenheimer’s massive box office success has earned him £750,000,000 ($957,000,000) worldwide… and counting.

Made on a relatively modest budget of £78 million ($100 million), the cerebral epic is the most successful biopic ever made – bigger than 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and people thought it was a phenomenon .

But as director Christopher Nolan prepares to win the statuettes for best film and best director for his film, is it also the most financially successful project of all? When he was making the Oppenheimer rounds, many sources claim that Nolan asked for – and got – a deal (with Universal) to have 20% of the “first dollar gross” (box office revenue from day one Release).

This would mean the director, born and raised in the UK, is now around $200 million richer and suddenly becomes one of the richest men in Hollywood. Neither Universal nor Nolan’s publicist will comment.

An insider says: “Nolan is a savvy operator who offers a near-guaranteed return to studios, so he is able to control the terms of his contracts to a greater extent than almost any other filmmaker.”

Oppenheimer’s huge box office success has earned him £750,000,000 ($957,000,000) worldwide… and counting (Christopher Nolan pictured with Cillian Murphy)

Cillian Murphy (photo) starred in Nolan's Oppenheimer, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.

Cillian Murphy (photo) starred in Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.

Oppenheimer was far more successful than Nolan's Tenet - the $200 million film was released in September 2020, in the middle of a pandemic and to middling reviews.

Oppenheimer was far more successful than Nolan’s Tenet – the $200 million film was released in September 2020, in the middle of a pandemic and to middling reviews.

This sweet deal came about after Nolan’s long-standing relationship with Warner Bros ran into trouble due to the release of Tenet.

This $200 million film was released in September 2020, in the middle of a pandemic and after friction over three times delayed release dates. The reviews were poor and the box office was also lukewarm.

The following year, with Oppenheimer’s idea formed and the scripts written, executives from Universal, Sony, Paramount and Apple all visited Nolan at his home in the Hollywood Hills to hear what he wanted.

It required a production budget of approximately $100 million and equal marketing expenses; full creative control; 20 percent of the first gross dollar; and a blackout period, meaning the company would not release another film three weeks before or after its film. Plus a 100+ day theatrical window.

Apple was unwilling to commit to releasing the film theatrically for that long, and Paramount exited early. But Sony and Universal have apparently been rivals to the end.

Lily channels the spirit of de Havilland

Lily Gladstone – hoping for an Oscar for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers Of The Flower Moon – made director Martin Scorsese think of Golden Age cinema icon Olivia de Havilland.

“Lily Gladstone looks like Olivia de Havilland. There’s no doubt about it. She really looks like that,” Scorsese said.

The character of Mollie, who realizes that the man she loves has betrayed her, is based on a real historical figure. But Scorsese said the dramatization was also inspired by de Havilland in William Wyler’s 1949 classic, The Heiress.

He explained that the film served as a “touchstone” for his ensemble cast of Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro, depicting how the Osage people, and Mollie in particular, were preyed upon. “The problem is: does he really want her, or does he want her money? That’s the key.

Gladstone agreed. “A lot of the performance came from what I thought of Mollie, but I was also imitating de Havilland in many ways, giving back to an indigenous woman the kind of leading woman position that we were excluded from at that time.”

Lily Gladstone hopes for an Oscar for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers Of The Flower Moon

Lily Gladstone hopes for an Oscar for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers Of The Flower Moon

Gladstone is neck and neck with Emma Stone for Poor Things in the race for best actress at this year's Oscars

Gladstone is neck and neck with Emma Stone for Poor Things in the race for best actress at this year’s Oscars

The character of Mollie, who realizes that the man she loves - played by Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured) has betrayed her - is based on a real historical figure

The character of Mollie, who realizes that the man she loves – played by Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured) has betrayed her – is based on a real historical figure

Gladstone is neck and neck with Poor Things’ Emma Stone in the Best Actress race at this year’s Oscars, but perhaps the De Havilland connection will prove a lucky charm. The Anglo-American legend won Best Actress for The Heiress in 1950.

Creator of Barbie who hated pink

Seven – yes seven! — Academy Award nominee Sarah Greenwood for production design is in the fray this year for Barbie, alongside creative partner Katie Spencer.

It turns out that neither woman owned a Barbie doll or a Barbie dreamhouse when she was a girl. So they had to do their research when they got the call from director Greta Gerwig.

Greenwood says: “My generation looked down on Barbie a lot. I think what I’ve never done, and what this movie might do, is maybe make it more acceptable to like Barbie – or like pink – which is what we spent a lot of time not to do.

Everything in Barbieland – built on Warner Bros land near Watford – was 23% smaller than the human actors, because Barbie was always too big for her house. “What seems simple is not,” Greenwood says.

Neither Sarah Greenwood nor Katie Spencer, the creators of Barbie, owned a Barbie doll or a Barbie dreamhouse when she was a girl.

Neither Sarah Greenwood nor Katie Spencer, the creators of Barbie, owned a Barbie doll or a Barbie dreamhouse when she was a girl.

Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling’s performance in the film’s I’m Just Ken is bound to be the best moment of Sunday night. The five nominated original songs will be performed.

Research shows that audiences under 35 will just watch highlights like this on TikTok and YouTube, rather than bother sitting down for the stream: 54% plan to follow along the Oscars on social media, which is one way to miss out. the boring bits.

The study also shows that 44% of Gen Z want Barbie to win Best Picture.

The “Oscar bump,” which sees nominees and winners increase their pay and exposure, is not limited to the world of filmed entertainment.

Paul Giamatti, nominated for The Holdovers, found that it attracted millions of people to his side gig, a podcast called Chinwag, which saw his listeners triple. It’s a left-field offering in which he and philosophy professor Stephen Asma discuss UFOs, Bigfoot and the like.

The Holdovers nominee Paul Giamatti found the 'Oscar bump' drew millions to his side gig, a podcast called Chinwag

The Holdovers nominee Paul Giamatti found the ‘Oscar bump’ attracted millions to his side gig, a podcast called Chinwag

Annette raises a glass to her mother

Annette Bening, 65, says she hopes to eventually emulate her 94-year-old widowed mother, who spends her days doing crosswords and enjoying a cocktail every evening.

Bening, who is campaigning (for the fifth time) to win her first Oscar for her performance as famous swimmer Diana Nyad, said: “My mother is 94 years old and she is an extraordinary person.

Annette Bening, 65, says she hopes to eventually emulate her 94-year-old widowed mother, who spends her days doing crosswords and enjoying a cocktail every evening

Annette Bening, 65, says she hopes to eventually emulate her 94-year-old widowed mother, who spends her days doing crosswords and enjoying a cocktail every evening

Annette starred alongside Jodie Foster in Nyad, a sports film about swimmer Diana Nyad's attempts to swim the Florida Straits in the 2010s.

Annette starred alongside Jodie Foster in Nyad, a sports film about swimmer Diana Nyad’s attempts to swim the Florida Straits in the 2010s.

“She goes on her computer briefly in the morning. She’s doing her crosswords. She reads. She enjoys her bridge with her friends. She rests in the afternoon. She has a cocktail in the evening. It is, to me, remarkable… what she accomplished. That she is capable of simply being – and being, in serenity and gratitude.

“There’s a lot of adjustment to be made and acceptance. And she did it in a remarkable way. So that’s what I aspire to do.

Three PWC accountants will work to avoid a mix-up like at the 2017 Oscars, when Moonlight won. but La La Land has been announced. We will have memorized the names of all the winners, and we will spend the night in a control room ready to intervene.

Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel, present for the fourth time in the hot spot, compares the ceremony to a plane trip. “We just want a flight to be on time, cocktails to be served and no one to throw up.”

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