Oppenheimer Criticized Over Censoring Nudity and Smoking Scenes in India

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is already a box office hit – but getting its release in India took some big compromises. Apparently, Oppenheimer‘s scenes of nudity and copious amounts of smoking violated cultural standards in the region, causing the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) to require heavy censorship of the film. This includes both black-bar edits and warning messages to censor the many scenes of characters smoking; while actress Florence Pugh’s scenes as Oppenheimer’s lover Jean Tatlock were either cut out completely due to their sexual nature or were digitally censored by using CGI to create black clothing to cover Pugh’s body. 

It should be noted that Christopher Nolan was made aware of the censorship the CBFC wanted and agreed to it as terms for Oppenheimer getting released in the region. The CBFC also unexpectedly conceded to giving Oppenheimer a rating of “UA” (Unrestricted with parental discretion advisement for 12 and under), instead of “A” (Adults Only). It’s assumed that the agreed-upon censorship (which also included some explicit word changes) helped make the film (in US terminology) more “PG-13” than “R,” which not only meant the Indian box office was open to Warner Bros. but also a much wider section of the Indian moviegoing audience. Suddenly it’s easier to understand why compromises were made.  

As movies continue to evolve in a globalized business, it’s been interesting to see how different cultural and/or political standards affect what gets released where, and what is shown to audiences (or not). How much Oppenheimer’s smoking levels and few scenes of nudity are “needed” in the film is definitely arguable, but it seems far less debatable that these sorts of censored cuts of the film aren’t really making cinephiles in those markets happy with their viewing experiences. 

Oppenheimer Opening Weekend Box Office Revealed

Oppenheimer and Barbie rode the hype wave of the “Barbenheimer” odd-couple double-feature event to mutual box office success. As of writing this, Oppenheimer has made $100 million worldwide over its opening weekend, with $80.5 million of that coming from the domestic box office. It’s clear that Warner Bros. is looking to maximize whatever foreign reach the film has – and a few censorship agreements aren’t standing in the way. 

What Is Oppenheimer About? 

“Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller that thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it. The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan.

The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Emily Blunt as his wife, biologist, and botanist Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. Oscar winner Matt Damon portrays General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Downey, Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Academy Award nominee Florence Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie plays theoretical physicist Edward Teller, Michael Angarano plays Robert Serber and Josh Hartnett plays pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence.

Oppenheimer also stars Oscar winner Rami Malek and reunites Nolan with eight-time Oscar-nominated actor, writer, and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh.

The cast includes Dane DeHaan (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Dylan Arnold (Halloween franchise), David Krumholtz (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Matthew Modine (The Dark Knight Rises).

Oppenheimer is filmed in a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX black-and-white analog photography.”

Oppenheimer is now in theaeters and IMAX.