‘Oppenheimer’ to be shown in Japan 8 months after ‘Barbenheimer’ outrage

Cast members Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh and Matt Damon attend a photo call for “Oppenheimer” in London, Britain, July 12, 2023. Image: Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska

TOKYO—Japanese audiences can watch the movie “Oppenheimer” in cinemas from March 29, distribution company Bitters End said on Wednesday, Jan. 24, after the epic on the creator of the nuclear bomb was nominated for 13 categories at the Oscar Awards.

The release date is almost eight months after memes mixing visuals from the film “Barbie” with atomic blasts provoked anger from people in Japan—the only country hit by a nuclear bomb during war.

The outrage over the “Barbenheimer” memes prompted an apology from Barbie distributor Warner Brothers Japan, which said at the time they were “extremely deplorable.”

A spokesperson for Bitters End declined to comment on the release date or say why it took over half a year for “Oppenheimer” to be screened in Japan.

“We decided to release this film in Japan after much debate and deliberation, as the themes covered in this film are ones that hold a very significant and special meaning for us as Japanese people,” Bitters End said in December, according to local media, when it said Oppenheimer would be released in Japan sometime in 2024.

The United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, during World War Two, killing thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year.

The US dropped another bomb on Nagasaki three days later, which killed more than 73,000 people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15. AP