Cinemas around the world are busier than ever thanks to the arrival of two films that have rapidly become blockbusters.
Excitement for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been in overdrive in the run-up to their simultaneous release, which has finally arrived.
While Oppenheimer’s critical ratings have blown past Barbie with a near-perfect Rotten Tomato score, the latter, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is now expected to double the Cillian Murphy-starring biopic’s box office takings.
However, both releases have shot past their expectations in a huge way, perhaps proving that audiences are tired of sequels and superhero films.
Barbie was estimated to earn $110m at the US box office during opening weekend, with Oppenheimer‘s total was projected to sit around $50m. Impressively, Barbie is now on track to take $150m, with Nolan’s drama set to amass $75m. Internationally, Barbie’s takings will see it have the second biggest debut ever.
This comes despite the fact the film was banned in Vietnam – and has now been delayed in Pakistan Punjab province over “objectionable content”. According to The Guardian, Barbie is being reviewed due to concerns over scenes that might violate the country’s social, cultural and religious values.
Meanwhile, speaking in a new interview with The Independent, Nolan described Oppenheimer as “the biggest film I’ve made”. Murphy admitted to struggling to watch the film due to seeing his face projected on the screen, but acknowleged that the film is “designed” to be “watched with an audience”.
Oppenheimer’s London premiere was cut short, however, as the cast left early in preparation for the SAG-AFTRA strike order, which was initiated hours after the event.
