Oppenheimer’s Oscar Wins Put It Among The 5 Most Successful Movies Ever Made

Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer achieved incredible levels of success, and its Oscar wins put it among the most successful movies ever made. Some level of success was anticipated for Oppenheimer even before the movie premiered given Nolan’s history. However, the film became a much bigger hit than even the most optimistic outlooks would have predicted. This all began with Oppenheimer‘s box office destroying expectations as it earned over $950 million worldwide. The financial performance became a massive bonus for a film deemed a frontrunner in many categories for the 2024 Oscars.

During the 2024 Oscars, Oppenheimer led the way with 13 nominations, which translated to 7 wins. The movie was responsible for winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, while Christopher Nolan finally got his Best Director and Best Picture Oscar wins. It was an impressive performance by Oppenheimer at the Oscars, even if it fell well short of being one of the movies with the most Oscar wins of all time. There is certainly no argument now that the film was a success across the board. In fact, Oppenheimer is among the five most successful movies ever now.

Oppenheimer Is Only The Third Movie Ever To Make Over $900 Million & Win At Least 7 Oscars

Oppenheimer‘s performance at the 2024 Oscars means it joined an extremely exclusive club of films that won seven or more Oscars and had box office receipts eclipsing $900 million. There are plenty of movies that have done one or the other, as 27 movies have won at least seven Oscars and 60 movies have made more at the box office than Nolan’s movie. However, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King are the only other movies in history to hit the same milestones at the box office and the Oscars as Oppenheimer.

The ability to put Oppenheimer in the same breath as Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is an incredible indicator of how successful the film was. Titanic and Return of the King are tied for the Oscar record for most wins by a single movie, as both won 11 Academy Awards. Both films exceeded Nolan’s movie financially too, as Titanic eclipsed $2.26 billion and Return of the King made over $1.15 billion. Oppenheimer does trail both titles at the box office and in terms of Oscar wins, but its success is still a rarity.

Gone With The Wind & Ben-Hur Beat Oppenheimer With Inflation-Adjusted Box Office

Two other legendary movies can arguably surpass Oppenheimer‘s success if inflation-adjusted box office totals are considered: Gone with the Wind and Ben-Hur. Ticket prices were much cheaper decades ago when both films were released, so adjusting their box office performances with modern pricing changes their totals substantially. Gone with the Wind made over $400 million worldwide in the decades after its release in 1939. That total changes to an estimated $3.4 billion adjusted for inflation according to Guinness World Records. In comparison, Ben-Hur‘s box office adjusted for inflation is around $1.8 billion after its estimated $146.9 million performance originally.

With both movies surpassing Oppenheimer at the box office after accounting for inflation, Gone with the Wind and Ben-Hur‘s performances at their respective Oscars make them more successful. Gone with the Wind won eight Oscars, while Ben-Hur set the record in 1960 by winning 11 Oscars. This means that Gone with the Wind and Ben-Hur beat Oppenheimer at the Oscars and at the box office if inflation is considered. That provides a list of five movies to achieve this level of box office and awards success, with Oppenheimer being the first to do so in 20 years.

Oppenheimer Is Easily Christopher Nolan’s Most Successful Movie Now

The ability to say that Oppenheimer is one of the five most successful movies ever made puts it in a different stratosphere for Christopher Nolan’s movies. He has achieved plenty of success before with his other films, but there is no denying that his latest stands alone. The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both made more than Oppenheimer at the box office, but the latter still holds a record for being Nolan’s highest-grossing non-Batman movie. This was all the more impressive considering Oppenheimer is a 3-hour R-rated biopic, not sequels based on one of the biggest superheroes ever.

Following its seven Oscar wins, Oppenheimer also now holds the crown for having the most awards success of the filmmaker’s titles. The seven wins are a record for him for a single movie. Its also important that these wins came in some of the biggest Oscar categories. The combination of awards and financial success easily makes Oppenheimer the most successful of Nolan’s movies, and it has to be based on the company it now finds itself with.