Oppenheimer is playing around the world in every country except Japan

There's a significant reason behind why

Christopher Nolan's latest film has been one of the talking points of the year and finally hit the big screen this weekend and it is expected to open with $50m (£43m) at the box office.

While everyone around the globe enjoys the spectacle that stars Cillian Murphy, Japan are sat waiting to get in on the action.

This isn't down to the film being banned in the country, but as of yet, no official release date has been confirmed.

A Universal spokesperson said: "plans have not been finalised in all markets".

The film itself follows the life of theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer - the man who helped to develop the first-ever nuclear bomb.

His work on the Manhattan project eventually led to the USA detonating two atomic bombs during the Pacific War in 1945, culminating in the loss of an estimated 200,000 people in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When speaking about the film, Nolan told The Independent that it is an "intense story".

He added: "I showed it to a filmmaker recently who said it’s kind of a horror movie. I don’t disagree."

Related links:

• REVIEW: Oppenheimer is very much not the movie you might be expecting
• Cillian Murphy refuses to play a smoker in his next role
• Oppenheimer is being called the ‘most important film of the century’