Barbie vs Oppenheimer latest: Greta Gerwig explains Barbie’s ending after record-breaking box office debut
Gerwig broke the domestic box office record for female director with ‘Barbie’ debut
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Greta Gerwig has broken the domestic box office record for a female director, with Barbie debuting at $155m in North America and $337m globally.
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, with excitement for Gerwig and Christopher Nolan’s respective blockbusters going into overdrive.
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.
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 acknowledged that the film is “designed” to be “watched with an audience”.
Meanwhile, Gerwig has spoken about her film’s “mic drop” ending, after breaking the record for the biggest box office debut by a female director.
Oppenheimer viewer spots blunder in background of new Christopher Nolan movie
Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy on Oppenheimer: ‘Taking that risk on behalf of all of us and our descendants – there’s nothing bigger than that’
Margot Robbie cast Rob Brydon ‘as a priority’ in Barbie
Mission: Impossible struggles at box office against record-breaking might of Barbenheimer
Barbie review: A near-miraculous achievement from Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie
Oppenheimer received major box office boost because Barbie tickets sold out
Any fears that the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer would hurt the films’ returns have now surely been put to bed as both movies smash box office records.
In the build-up to the 21 July release date, it was reported that Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan was upset that Warner Bros had scheduled Greta Gerwig’s Barbie for the same day.
However, according to film-data research company The Quorum, Nolan actually received a significant box office boost thanks to the commercial success of Gerwig’s picture.
Read more:
‘Oppenheimer’ benefitted from ‘Barbie’s’ ‘leftovers’, data research company says
Two A-listers who missed their Barbie feature
Greta Gerwig has named the two celebrity cameos she tried and failed to achieve for her star-studded Barbie film.
The director’s much-hyped film stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the main doll and her partner Ken.
Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, and Hari Nef are among the actors playing other Barbies, while Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir are among the other Kens.
However, in a new interview, Gerwig revealed that two of her previous collaborators slipped through the net.
Read more:
Director tried to get two former collaborators into film – to no avail
Robert Downey Jr praises Cillian Murphy’s ‘great sacrifice’ for ‘behemoth’ Oppenheimer role
Robert Downey Jr has showered praise on his Oppenheimer co-star Cillian Murphy for his level of commitment to his portrayal of the film’s lead character.
Murphy plays the real-life physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in the new Christopher Nolan-directed epic, about the man who is credited with creating the atomic bomb.
The movie has received critical acclaim and emerged as a box office hit, with particular praise reserved for Murphy’s performance.
In a recent interview, Downey Jr took the opportunity to commend Murphy for his hard work and dedication to perfecting the role.
Read more:
Downey Jr said the Irish actor had the ‘humility’ that was needed ‘to survive’ playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s biopic
Oppenheimer viewer spots blunder in background of new Christopher Nolan movie
An eagle-eyed viewer has spotted an apparent blunder in the background of Christopher Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer.
The film is told across three timelines, with scenes of Oppenheimer’s early life and work on the A-bomb being intermixed with scenes set during his 1954 security hearing, and the US Senate confirmation hearing of Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr) in 1959.
While Oppenheimer has been praised for its meticulous recreation of its mid-20th century setting, one fan seemingly spotted an error in a scene set in 1945.
Read more:
Film stars Cillian Murphy as nuclear physicist J Robert Oppenheimer
Barbie on track to earn biggest ever box office opening for non-superhero film
The Barbie and Oppenheimer excitement has resulted in one of the most lucrative box office openings of all time.
Both films opened on Friday (21 July), with their opening weekend box office tally across the world looking set to top the $400m (£311m) mark, which is a rare occurrence reserved for cinematic events.
Read more:
Both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ have exceeded projections in a huge way
Oppenheimer viewers react as ‘CGI dress’ covers nude Florence Pugh in some countries
Oppenheimer viewers in certain territories are learning that Florence Pugh actually appears nude in a sex scene with lead actor Cillian Murphy.
Pugh plays psychiatrist Jean Tatlock in the Christopher Nolan epic, which was released in cinemas on 21 July, with Irish actor Murphy playing the eponymous “father of the atomic bomb”.
Tatlock and Oppenheimer were in a relationship and later had an affair while the physicist was married to Katherine “Kitty” Puening (portrayed by Emily Blunt in the movie).
For Western audiences, Pugh, 27, appears nude in multiple sex scenes with Murphy, 47. However, in countries including India and Indonesia, she is reportedly seen wearing a black dress that appears to have been added using CGI.
Read more:
Pugh plays Oppenheimer’s mistress Jean Tatlock in the Christopher Nolan blockbuster
Greta Gerwig explains Barbie’s ‘mic-drop’ ending
Greta Gerwig has explained Barbie’s “mic drop” ending, revealing that its one-liner took inspiration from her personal experience as a teenage girl.
*Barbie spoilers below – you have been warned*
Read more:
Greta Gerwig explains Barbie’s ‘mic-drop’ ending: ‘I knew I wanted to end on a joke’
Director’s much-hyped movie is out in cinemas now
WATCH: Cillian Murphy reveals to The Independent’s own Jacob Stolworthy which Christopher Nolan film he’d double bill with Oppenheimer.
Barbie’s marketing campaign will surely be studied for years. In a new interview with Variety, Warner Bros president of global marketing Josh Goldstine spoke about how they managed to pull off one of the most successful marketing campaigns in recent years.
Goldstine credited the leaked footage of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling rollerblading along Venice Beach last year as one of the moments they first saw the “material electrify the culture”.
Emily Blunt says she was distracted by Cillian Murphy’s ‘ocean eyes’ on Oppenheimer set
Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have admitted to finding co-star Cillian Murphy’s blue eyes to be a “real problem” on the set of Oppenheimer.
In a group interview with People ahead of the film’s cinematic debut on Friday (21 July), the two were joined by Blunt, 40, who plays Oppenheimer’s trouble wife, Kitty Oppenheimer.
Speaking about what it was like acting alongside Murphy, the A Quiet Place star teased that she was often distracted by his eyes while filming.
Read more:
‘Sometimes you find yourself just swimming in his eyes,’ Matt Damon said of Irish actor
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