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Oppenheimer has been the most successful film at this year's Academy Awards, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture.
The Christopher Nolan-directed biopic has also been a commercial triumph, grossing more than $US953.8 million ($1.4 billion) worldwide since its opening in July 2023.
But for Japanese audiences, who will finally see the film this month after its long-delayed release, atomic pioneer J Robert Oppenheimer remains a controversial figure in a country scarred by nuclear war.
Though Oppenheimer is ostensibly an anti-war movie, pre-release buzz linking the film to Barbie, through the phenomenon dubbed Barbenheimer, drew criticism in Japan.
Why is the film controversial in Japan?
During World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 people who were mostly civilians.
Some have argued that the August 1945 bombings were a decisive end to the war, while others argue Japan was already on the brink of surrender.
Though Oppenheimer grapples with this question, the film has been attacked by some critics for lacking Japanese perspectives, and glossing over the human toll of the wartime nuclear program.
Some Japanese nationalists also consider the twin bombings a war crime, with local conservative voices expressing concern the film did not explicitly condemn the blasts as such.
What caused the Barbenheimer backlash?
The wariness of Japanese audiences began in the lead-up to Oppenheimer's US release and the grassroots marketing campaign that propelled it.
Barbenheimer, a portmanteau of Barbie and Oppenheimer, became a cultural phenomenon following the release of the two tonally dissimilar films on the same day.
In now-deleted posts on X, the Warner Bros marketing account for Barbie liked a fan-produced meme that depicted star Margot Robbie with Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy alongside images of nuclear blasts.
Some Japanese social media users expressed offence at the images which they felt trivialised the bombings.
A #NoBarbenheimer hashtag trended online in Japan, and both the US and Japanese divisions of Warner Bros released an apology.
How widespread is the criticism?
Nuclear weapons are a sensitive topic in Japan, where atomic bomb survivors are widely respected, said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese Studies at Kanda University.
He told the ABC that the negative reaction in Japan was not about the film's topic, but mostly "a reaction to Barbenheimer internet memes and costume-wearing that were perceived as making fun of a tragic event".
"People in Japan, regardless of their generation, perceive the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as horrible tragedies that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians," Mr Hall said.
"Netizens found the internet memes, which were promoted by official social media accounts, to be extremely distasteful."
Japanese audiences are not necessarily adverse to films about the bomb; millions grew up watching the gut-wrenching animated memoir Barefoot Gen.
But Japanese director Mayu Nakamura, who has made several documentaries about the survivors of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, expects many locals will be disappointed with Nolan's latest work.
"He didn't include any A-bomb sequence, how in Hiroshima, Nagasaki the A-bomb affected people there," she said.
"It didn't really show up that part, only Oppenheimer horrified to see it. And so that part was a little bit kind of disappointing."
What do citizens in Hiroshima think?
Several Japanese peace activists said they were eager to see the film once it opens.
"I don't hold a grudge against Mr Oppenheimer himself or anything like that. It's a much bigger issue," said Teruko Yahata, an 86-year-old survivor of the Hiroshima bombing, who often speaks for nuclear survivors.
"I think the Oppenheimer film should be screened in Japan, so we can learn from it and not lose that awareness that we need to preserve a future for our loved ones," she said.
Ms Yahata was eight years old when she glimpsed the explosion on August 6, 1945, from her family's garden, only to be knocked back six metres by its force.
She said she felt a degree of empathy for Oppenheimer and his team.
"It must have weighed heavily on their consciences," she said.
"Oppenheimer probably understood better than anyone what a terrible thing would result from the creation of atomic weapons."
Several current Hiroshima residents also said they were excited for the film, saying it would reinvigorate the global debate over nuclear weapons.
"I myself would definitely like to watch this movie," said Yasuhiro Akiyama, a 43-year-old teacher, who added that it may encourage international tourists to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Miyuki Hirano, a 44-year-old nurse, agreed with that sentiment.
"I hope this movie will give everyone an opportunity to learn about peace."
What are expectations in Japan following the film's Oscars success?
Following the Best Picture win at the Academy Awards, Japanese cinephiles are eagerly anticipating Oppenheimer's domestic release.
"It is quite common for American films about topics that aren't easily marketable to Japanese audiences to be released after they have received international awards," said Mr Hall.
"I think that Cillian Murphy's award speech, in which he noted the importance of peacemakers, will be well-received in Japan."
Mr Hall said Oppenheimer was "not a triumphal film" that treated the father of the atomic bomb like a hero.
"It is a film about a scientist who felt tortured by the consequences of the weapon he helped create," he said.
"Even though there are no Japanese people and no scenes of atomic bombings in the film, the film clearly does not celebrate the discovery of nuclear weapons."
ABC/wires