# Are niche topic movies really that above the competition? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 26, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659 "2023-07-26T18:23:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/21 "2023-07-27T02:00:24Z")
I wonder how close Tom Hanks came to playing Oppenheimer. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/22 "2023-07-27T02:05:05Z")
I assume not very. Cillian Murphy is in like every Nolan film, so I don’t see how there would have been anyone else even considered once the project got rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/23 "2023-07-27T09:01:57Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > So to “revive” the projectors, they had to bring people out of retirement or borrow them from other theaters that are still running film every day (e.g., museums and science centers). And every location needs at least two or three operators for the month of the run. Good point. [News story interviewing the projectionists](https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/the-cinemas-where-oppenheimer-beat-barbie-have-one-thing-in-common-20230726-p5drbb.html) who are working long days to get through three showings of _Oppenheimer_. On the plus side they seem to be enjoying the chance to strut their stuff and do more than pressing a button. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/24 "2023-07-27T11:14:38Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > I’m not even from an English speaking country, but I can’t spend more than 10 minutes surfing the internet without at least one Oppenheimer reference or meme, before that it was Chernobyl, shows like Peaky Blinders and I don’t understand where all that popularity comes from. > > I haven’t watched them, but I suppose they are good movies/shows and of high quality production, but so are many other movies and very little of them get this insane levels of global popularity. I doubt 5% of people in my country even knew who Oppenheimer was a few weeks ago, people might have heard the term Manhattan project, but an average person on the street would probably have no idea who some dude called Robert Oppenheimer was. Yet, now overnight everyone is an expert on his life, nuclear bombs and so on. > > Barbie is a household name across the planet, so it’s popularity makes far more sense, then there are legendary globaly known series such as Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible which as far as I know also released new movies recently, but I barely saw anything about them in the American part of the internet, let alone outside it. > > So in essence, are niche-topic productions like Oppenheimer and Chernobyl really that insanely great that they merit such a level of global popularity…or is it more that it is simply new refreshing topics, instead of old series people might have gotten bored with? I don’t know. Like do you want to watch real men building the ultimate bomb in the name of Freedom? Or do you want to watch an ironic tale of modern feminism told through a beloved corporate icon? How many people outside of Scotland knew who William Wallace was before Mel Gibson came along? At least Oppenheimer was building a nuclear bomb. On paper is there anything more boring and esoteric than Alan Turing trying to reverse engineer an olde-timey crypto device? And you mean to tell me there were THIRTEEN Apollo missions?! Not just the “one small step” one? How many people would know who Captain Phillips, Chestly Sullenberger, Charlie Wilson, James Donovan, Walt Disney or Forest Gump was without Tom Hanks? Even if people aren’t familiar with the person or event, I think there is a high demand for historical dramas that tell stories of real people doing real extraordinary things who don’t have the ability to drink some magic superserum and punch a hammer through Hitler’s skull. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/25 "2023-07-27T11:18:13Z")
Thanks for that link. BTW, in case it’s not clear, that theater is showing it in conventional 70mm, not IMAX 70mm. The difference is that each frame of standard 70 is five perforations high, with an aspect ratio (width to height) of about 2.25 to 1, i.e., wide screen. IMAX film runs horizontally, and each frame is 15 perfs wide (three times the area of standard 70), with a ratio of 1.43 to (roughly 3:4), much taller and squarer. Nolan tries to get all his films released in as many film locations (and formats) as possible, whether IMAX, standard 70, or 35mm. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/26 "2023-07-27T12:35:20Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > I’m not even from an English speaking country, but I can’t spend more than 10 minutes surfing the internet without at least one Oppenheimer reference or meme, before that it was Chernobyl, shows like Peaky Blinders and I don’t understand where all that popularity comes from. I’m not sure anyone really understands where all the popularity comes from for any big hit. In hindsight, sure, it’s easy to look back at a show and say, “It’s good great writing, actors, and production values, so of course it’s popular,” but that simply isn’t the case all the time. Every time you release something new you’re taking a gamble and hoping you find an audience. They were taking a chance when they released the first Iron Man movie and I don’t think anyone expected it to lead to the MCU. I’m sure many of us can point to high quality movies or television shows that just never managed to gain an auidence for one reason or another. I don’t believe niche material is above the competition, all too often niche material just never gets produced, or, if it does, withers on the vine because of a lack of audience. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/27 "2023-07-27T14:28:14Z")
Yeah, I don’t understand why the development of nuclear weapons is any more “niche” a subject than that of countless other successful historical drama films. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/28 "2023-07-27T16:58:10Z")
Lets not forget the casting too. People like Matt Damon and RDJ. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/29 "2023-07-27T17:00:47Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Chestly Sullenberger From the porn parody? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/30 "2023-07-27T17:04:49Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > How many people would know who Captain Phillips, Chestly Sullenberger, Charlie Wilson, James Donovan, **Walt Disney** or Forest Gump was without Tom Hanks? A few, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/31 "2023-07-27T17:59:52Z")
You’re thinking of Chestly Sluttybummer ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659/32 "2023-07-27T18:32:48Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Chestly Sullenberger Wait…I have something for this… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-niche-topic-movies-really-that-above-the-competition/987659.md?page=1)