NEW MEXICO, USA — Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" helped to bring people back into movie theatres and it may also bring people out to rural New Mexico.
The Trinity Site National Landmark in New Mexico is where J. Robert Oppenheimer's team of scientists tested their atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. One month later, the bomb was dropped on Japan, killing thousands of people and bringing an end to World War II.
Twice a year, the U.S. Army allows tourists to visit the Trinity testing site, and big crowds are expected at the next open house on Oct. 21.
"Due to the release of the movie 'Oppenheimer' in July, we are expecting a larger than normal crowd at the 21 October open house," the Army wrote on the White Sands Missile Range website.
Wait times are projected to last up to two hours just to get onto the site. The Army said if a visitor is not among the first 5,000 people to show up on Oct. 21, then they might not be able to enter before the site closes at 2 p.m.
Much of "Oppenheimer" takes place at the New Mexico site and dramatizes the moment when the bomb was first detonated 78 years ago. According to the Army, the shock wave of the bomb's blast was powerful enough to break windows from over 120 miles away and its heat melted the surrounding desert sand into a green, glassy substance.
New Mexico residents weren't made fully aware of the nuclear testing until after the bombs had been dropped on Japan.
Nolan's film has already grossed $180 million at the box office after debuting alongside Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" during the same weekend.
The Trinity site, which is a seven-hour car ride from Phoenix, was designated a historic landmark in 1975.
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