Oppenheimer to be shown in Japan from March 29, 8 months after ‘Barbenheimer’ outrage
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The release date comes almost eight months after people in Japan expressed outrage at memes mixing visuals from Barbie with atomic blasts.
PHOTO: UNIVERSAL PICTURES
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TOKYO - Japanese audiences will be able to watch Oppenheimer in cinemas from March 29, distribution company Bitters End said on Jan 24, after the biopic on the nuclear bomb’s creator was nominated for 13 categories
The release date is almost eight months after memes mixing visuals from the film Barbie
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, when it said Oppenheimer would be released in Japan sometime in 2024.
The United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 during World War Two, killing thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year.
It later dropped another bomb on Nagasaki three days later, killing more than 73,000 people. Japan ultimately surrendered on August 15, 1945. REUTERS
