Oppenheimer is finally arriving on digital and physical media on November 21. This release window aligns with producer Emma Thomas’ claim from September, and marks exactly four months since the biopic’s theatrical release on July 21. Having shattered global box office records, partly thanks to the ‘Barbenheimer’ craze, the film will soon be available to own in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, alongside digital streaming options from Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and YouTube Movies. There is no mention of regional language dubbing yet, but going by Oppenheimer’s (still ongoing) theatrical run, Indians can expect Hindi dubbing, at the minimum.
It’s interesting to see Universal Pictures dropping all formats of Oppenheimer at the same time, as most studios put out a digital version first, followed by a physical release and streaming options. Even its box office competitor Barbie followed the industry standard, and was released on VOD merely 53 days after its theatrical release. Despite being billed as rivals, both films with opposing themes, contributed to each other’s successes, perching them at the top of the worldwide box office charts. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ranks third, having earned an impressive $942.1 million (about Rs. 7,840 crore), while Greta Gerwig’s candy-coated romp leads the year’s charts with a $1.43 billion (about Rs. 11,901 crore) collection. The former is now the highest-grossing biopic of all time, having surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody, which charted renowned singer Freddy Mercury’s life.
The Oppenheimer VOD release also brings over three hours of bonus special features, which reportedly include the 70-minute-long exclusive behind-the-scenes footage titled ‘The Story of Our Time: The Making of Oppenheimer.’ Expect interviews with the cast and Nolan himself, as they delve into the process involved in bringing the isolated Los Alamos community to life through performances and its technicalities. I highly doubt Nolan would ever divulge how he re-created the atomic bomb explosion using practical effects, but fingers crossed. Then there’s the NBC News documentary ‘To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb,’ alongside a ‘Trinity Anniversary Panel Discussion,’ featuring Kai Bird, the Pulitzer award-winning co-author of the biography ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.’ The film is based on that book.
Oppenheimer explores the politics and drama surrounding the creation of the first nuclear bomb, through the eyes of the renowned theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). The biopic chronicles his life as a Harvard graduate, musing about war crimes, to his obsessive navigation of the Manhattan Project amidst the roars of World War II, leading up to the Trinity Test. Marking Nolan’s first R-rated film in two decades, it also stars Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh. It’s also worth noting that when Oppenheimer does eventually come to streaming, it should be available on JioCinema in India and Peacock internationally. There are no deleted scenes either, as lead Murphy confirmed in an earlier interview.
Oppenheimer is still playing in theatres worldwide. It will be available to watch digitally and physically through video-on-demand on November 21.