Atomic bomb thriller 'Oppenheimer' finally set to debut in Japan after controversy

Acclaimed director Christopher Nolan's summer blockbuster "Oppenheimer" is slated to release next year in Japan, according to The Japan Times. 

The film is centered on American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who famously played a key role in the invention of the atomic bomb that was eventually dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

"As the subject matter of this film has a very important and special meaning for us Japanese people, we decided to release it in Japan after various discussions and considerations," Tokyo-based distributor Bitters End reportedly said in a statement. 

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Bitters End said that the decision to air the film in Japan took serious consideration and was "made following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese." 

"After screening the film," the statement continued, "we feel Christopher Nolan has created a singular cinematic experience that transcends traditional storytelling and must be seen on the big screen. We invite the audience to watch the film with their own eyes when it comes to Japan."

The decision also comes after some Japanese citizens aired their grievances online over a "grassroots marketing campaign linking [Oppenheimer] to ‘Barbie,’ another blockbuster that opened around the same time, with fan-produced images of the films' stars alongside images of nuclear blasts," The Japan Times reported. 

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"Oppenheimer," one of the highest grossing films of 2023, also angered some Hindu nationalist politicians in India over a sex scene that sees the film's titular character read a line from one of the religion's most sacred scriptures. 

The movie features a scene in which the title character, played by Cillian Murphy, has sex with his lover Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). Following their lovemaking, Pugh's character grabs a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Hindu scripture that encompasses part of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. She then hands the book to Oppenheimer, who reads from it. 

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds," Oppenheimer says, quoting from the epic Mahabharata. 

Fox News' Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.