More details are emerging in regards to the deal that Universal Pictures made with filmmaker Christopher Nolan to land his upcoming untitled historical drama about atom bomb developer J. Robert Oppenheimer.
THR reports that Universal beat out Paramount, Sony, and Apple who all were in discussions in Nolan, and a key reason for that is the other three couldn’t, or wouldn’t, meet Nolan’s demands.
Those demands included 20% of the first-dollar gross, a blackout period in which the studio wouldn’t release a film for three weeks before and three weeks after his, and an exclusive theatrical window.
The latter in particular is apparently what made Apple balk as the report suggests the exclusivity window be 100 days and possibly up to 130 days, as opposed to the new post-pandemic standard which seems to be settling on approximately 45 days.
Paramount’s recent executive shakeup likely left it an also-ran, but Sony Pictures was said to be in the mix right up to the end. The film boasts an alleged budget of around $100 million and is aiming for an early 2022 shoot ahead of a late 2023 or 2024 release.
