Christopher Nolan’s Atomic Bomb Movie: Every Detail You Need To Know
4. Despite Rocky Relations With Nolan, Warner Bros. Is Still In The Mix
Though there are exceptions (for example, Interstellar was co-distributed by Paramount), Nolan movies are typically released by Warner Bros., with their relationship dating back to 2002's Insomnia remake.
However, when the studio announced that its entire 2021 slate would be on HBO Max and in cinemas on the exact same day, Nolan didn't hold back in voicing his criticisms. It's no exaggeration to say that he was royally p*ssed off:
"Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service."
This situation obviously caused quite a bit of tension between Nolan and Warner Bros., and it's probably the only reason why we're even talking about the Oppenheimer project ending up with another studio. Again, Nolan is a traditionalist, so if Warner Bros. had been more loyal to theatres? Their working relationship would likely have remained unchanged.
Despite all the drama however, Variety notes that Warner Bros. is still in with a shot at landing Nolan's next movie - although they've certainly hurt their chances.