Barbie cast turn London Eye pink to celebrate film premiere
Greta Gerwig has broken the domestic box office record for a female director with Barbie on track to make $155m on the opening weekend in North America.
The film surpassed the $103.3m domestic opening of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman and the $153m weekend opening of 2019’s Captain Marvel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cinemas around the world were busier than ever over the weekend, thanks to the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Excitement for Gerwig and Christopher Nolan’s respective blockbusters has been in overdrive in the run-up to their release on Friday 21 July.
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, has surpassed the Cillian Murphy-starring biopic’s box office takings.
Impressively, Barbie is now on track to take $155m, with Nolan’s drama set to amass $80.5m in North America. Internationally, both films have delivered massive global debuts of $337m (Barbie) and $174.2m (Oppenheimer) respectively.
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”.
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Barbie review: A near-miraculous achievement from Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie
“While it’s impossible for any studio film to be truly subversive, this Mattel-approved comedy gets away with far more than you’d think was possible,” writes The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 10:30
The true story of the complex female figures behind J R Oppenheimer
In Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s new film about the inventor of the atomic bomb, Florence Pugh is the messy mistress Jean Tatlock, Emily Blunt the alcoholic wife. The Independent’s Annabel Nugent talks to historians and discovers the women’s true story to be worthy of a three-hour film of its own.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 10:00
What order should you watch Barbie and Oppenheimer in?
With the two films out in the same week, many people have committed to seeing them one after the other, as part of a self-curated double bill.
The radically different tones of the two films has, however, provoked some debate regarding the optimal order in which to view the films.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 09:30
Mission: Impossible struggles at box office against record-breaking might of Barbenheimer
Tom Cruise seems to be facing his very own Mission: Impossible as the latest movie in the action franchise, Dead Reckoning, continues to struggle at the box office against the dual releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer.
In its second weekend, Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One fell by 64 per cent to $19.5m (£15m) when going up against Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 09:15
Oppenheimer review: Clever, imaginative and Christopher Nolan at his best
“Cillian Murphy allows the light to dim from his eyes in every subsequent scene, but it is Robert Downey Jr who is titanic here,” writes The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 09:00
Greta Gerwig makes domestic box office history with biggest opening for a female director
Barbie director Greta Gerwig has made box office history by breaking the opening weekend record for a female director, solo or otherwise.
Gerwig’s movie opened to an estimated $155m at the North American box office and a whopping $337m at the global box office over the 21-23 July weekend.
The film easily surpassed the $103.3m domestic opening of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman and $153m opening of 2019 Captain Marvel.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 08:31
‘Barbie’ release delay in Pakistan province faces severe criticism
The release of Greta Gerwig’s much-anticipated film Barbie has reportedly been delayed in a province in Pakistan and the move has come under harsh criticism from the country’s social media users.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 08:30
Margot Robbie cast Rob Brydon ‘as a priority’ in Barbie
One particular Barbie cameo that is particularly surprising for cinemagoers in the UK is Rob Brydon – and it turns out Margot Robbie was instrumental in ensuring the Welsh actor appeared in the film.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 08:00
Watch: Cinemagoers flock to see ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’
London’s Leicester Square packed as fans celebrate ‘Barbenheimer’ release
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 07:00
Christopher Nolan says Oppenheimer is ‘the biggest film I’ve ever made’
The Independent sat down with both Nolan and Cillan Murphy to discuss Oppenheimer.
During the chat, Nolan discussed his new film as well as his directing future while Murphy admitted: “I love watching Christopher Nolan’s films when I’m not in them.
Read the full interview here.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 06:30