How long is Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer?

Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster Oppenheimer is squaring up for a battle royale at the box office Barbie, now that both of them have finally been released.

The movie, based on a biography called ‘American Prometheus’ by Martin J. Sherwin and Kai Bird, stars Cillian Murphy as title character J. Robert Oppenheimer – one of the key scientists involved in developing the atomic bomb.

Audiences can also look forward to an all-star cast, including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and Robert Downey Jr, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, and more, with Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy playing the film’s lead character.

If you’re one of the many cinemagoers planning to watch both films – and debating in what order to watch them – you’ll be needing to plan your meal, snack and toilet breaks accordingly, so it’ll help to know just how many hours you’ll be in the cinema.

With that in mind, what is Oppenheimer’s running time?

What is Oppenheimer’s running time?

Make sure you’ve got the snacks and drinks in – because Oppenheimer runs for a whopping 180 minutes – exactly three hours, give or take a few seconds.

That makes it Christopher Nolan’s longest film to date, eclipsing his previous longest movie Interstellar, which ran for two hours and 49 minutes – and The Dark Knight, which had a runtime of two hours and 44 minutes.

Here’s how the film compares to his other directorial efforts.

• Oppenheimer (2023) – 180 minutes/three hours
• Interstellar (2014) – 169 minutes/two hours 49 minutes
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 164 minutes/two hours 44 minutes
• The Dark Knight (2008) – 152 minutes/two hours 32 minutes
• Tenet (2020) – 150 minutes/two hours 30 minutes
• Inception (2010) – 148 minutes/two hours 28 minutes
• Batman Begins (2005) – 140 minutes/two hours 20 minutes
• The Prestige (2006) – 130 minutes/two hours 10 minutes
• Insomnia (2002) – 118 minutes/one hour 58 minutes
• Memento (2000) – 113 minutes/one hour 53 minutes
• Dunkirk (2017) – 106 minutes/one hour 46 minutes
• Following (1998) – 70 minutes/one hour 10 minutes

The film homes in on American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb, and his role in the Manhattan Project.

The Project, which ran from 1942 to 1946, produced the first nuclear weapons – which were then used in the bombings of Japanese cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima which led to them surrendering in World War II.

Nolan has admitted that the lengthy drama has been an ‘intense experience’ for many of those who saw early screenings.

‘Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated. They can’t speak,’ Nolan said.

‘It is an intense experience because it’s an intense story. I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree,’ he added.

What rating is Oppenheimer?

Oppenheimer has been rated a 15 by the British Board of Film Classification – meaning nobody younger than 15 can see the film in a cinema.

The censors have highlighted that the film has received the rating for ‘strong language and sex’.

The latter sees the film shine a spotlight on the affair between Oppenheimer and his lover Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh.

The Irish actor, 47, told The Sydney Morning Herald of the intimate scenes: ‘Those scenes were written deliberately.

‘He (Christopher Nolan) knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got.

‘And I think when you see it, it’s so f***ing powerful. And they’re not gratuitous. They’re perfect. And Florence is just amazing.

‘The impact she has [in Oppenheimer] for the size of the role, it’s quite devastating.’

Oppenheimer is in cinemas now.

MORE : Cinema audiences are set to flock to Oppenheimer – but will Japanese viewers get to see Christopher Nolan’s epic?

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