Los Angeles, Dec 26 (IANS): Filmmaker Christopher Nolan feels good about the state of the movie industry after "Oppenheimer" became the "most successful film" he's ever made.

"I've just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer which is R-rated and half in black-and-white - and it made a billion dollars. Of course, I think films are doing great," he told Empire magazine.

"The crazy thing is that it's literally the most successful film I've ever made. I've been doing this for 20 years and in the United Kingdom it's my highest-grossing film. So I feel great about the state of the movie business, based on my own experience."

Nolan also said it was great to see "audiences come back" to cinemas this year. It comes after both "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" were released in cinemas at the same time this summer, which created a cultural phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer", in which people watched the two movies, often on the same day, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Nolan added: "But also based on seeing other movies break out, seeing audiences come back. The audience's desire to be surprised, to see something new, to see something they did not know they wanted, that's always been the most powerful force in theatrical film. So it was wonderful to see that this year."

Hollywood star Tom Cruise helped to spark the "Barbenheimer" craze, after he revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that he had bought tickets to see both "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" over the summer.