Oppenheimer is scheduled to release in mainland China on 30 August by Universal Pictures. Director Christopher Nolan appeared in Beijing and Shanghai for two Premiere events on 22 & 24 August.

During World War II, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves Jr. appoints physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.

An ambitious film project, Nolan once again uses his master craft to tell this important story at our critical times. In the US and the UK market, Oppenheimer opened at the same time as Barbie, which created a sensational discussion on social media around #Barbenheimer.

While Barbie beat Oppenheimer during the opening weekend in most countries, we predict that Oppenheimer is likely to beat Barbie at the box-office in China, as the market has a higher population of culturally demanding audience.

The film of the year has already been released in Hong Kong and Macau SAR in July ahead of the mainland release in China.

Here are some questions asked by the Chinese audience during the Premiere event in Beijing on 22 August. We have briefly translated them, for your curiosity:

Considering the complexity of all the characters in the film as well as their relationships with each other, do you recommend the audience to do some reading homework before watching your film?

“Kitty” Oppenheimer is an interesting female character who rejects a stereotypical woman representation on screen. How do you see these women characters in your film? 
 
What advice can you give to film students like myself who struggle to find funding to support our first film?
 
Have you tried a Beijing local drink called “douzhi’er”?
 
Would you recommend your children to follow your footsteps, to become a filmmaker?
 
Why did you choose 2023 to release this film and how do you see your film being relevant to our current world?
 
Which process do you find more challenging, writing about Oppenheimer’s story in a script or to visualise it?

Christopher Nolan has already visited China before in 2017 to promote his earlier work, Dunkirk, which received a box-office of £40 m.

On behalf of UCFC, we sincerely wish Oppenheimer to enjoy a successful box-office in China and to receive even more meaning feedback from the Chinese audience.