"I feel great about the state of the movie business"- Christopher Nolan emphasizes booming Hollywood after Oppenheimer's success 

What a year it has been for cinema and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, who delivered one of his career's most critically acclaimed and financially successful films with Oppenheimer, a biopic of the scientist who invented the first atomic bomb. Despite it being the kind of film that could appeal to less number of people, Oppenheimer achieved a magnanimous $951 million worldwide while also racking up award nominations.

While it would not be wrong to call this the greatest work of Nolan, it is hardly the one that could, or should, appeal to the masses. A three-hour-long drama, which is usually dialogue-driven, containing a lot of scientific and historical anecdotes, and shot in black and white, is hardly the kind that draws in millions of viewers every day. But Oppenheimer did and Christopher Nolan is glad it did.

He recently reflected on the success in an interview with Empire, where he emphasized that the movie business was booming at the moment, with people returning to the theatres for good again. He said:

"I’ve just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer which is R-rated and half in black-and-white – and it made a billion dollars. Of course I think films are doing great."

He added:

"The crazy thing is that it’s literally the most successful film I’ve ever made. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and in the United Kingdom it’s my highest-grossing film."

He also revealed his experiences of sneaking into local theatres to witness fans watch it.

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"It was a really remarkable experience. Quite overwhelming, really"- Christopher Nolan on seeing the authentic fan reaction to Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan was very impressed by the reaction his masterpiece received from the opening weekend. The veteran director, who has also directed the fan-favorite Dark Knight trilogy, snuck into local theatres and public screenings in a bid to capture the audience's reaction live, which ultimately really impressed him.

While speaking about this to Empire, the veteran director said:

"Emma [Thomas, Nolan’s producer and wife] and I went into the back of Lincoln Square, which has a giant IMAX screen where you can still play 70mm film. And there were two screens – one five-perf 70mm, one 15-perf – and we went from one to the other. When we walked into the back of the IMAX screen, it was just as the Trinity test was coming to its conclusion. It was absolutely packed; every seat was filled."

He continued,

"To be in the back of that theatre in that moment of silence, before the sound washes over the audience… you could hear a pin drop. It was a really remarkable experience. Quite overwhelming, really."

Of course, a big reason for Oppenheimer's tremendous success was because it competed with Barbie, Greta Gerwig's brightly colored gender commentary, which was also released on the same date and received an even warmer response at the box office, breaking several records around the world.

Together, Barbie and Oppenheimer made a ground-breaking record and made people fall in love with the movies again. Hopefully, this wave of optimism will continue over the next year.