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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Your support makes all the difference.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’ technical faults hit cinemas
Christopher Nolan has made it very clear his preferred way to watch Oppeheimer is in IMAX 70mm.
In fact, the film is the longest one to ever be projected in this format.
Due to the fragile nature of projecting in 70mm, though, many cinemagoers around the world have been experiencing faults – one of which may or may not have been a nod to Barbenheimer.
Barbie’s fun cameo
In the run-up to Barbie, film fans were left confused after seeing Rob Brydon at the UK premiere.
The Gavin & Stacey comedy star then wrote on Twitter that he had small role in the film – and sure enough, he’s there!
Many are lovingly calling his sudden, and brief, appearance in the film as a “jump scare”.
Our verdict on ‘Barbie’
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie gets the five-star treatment from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey:
Barbie is a near-miraculous achievement – movie review
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
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.
“It’s a real problem when you’re doing scene work with Cillian,” Damon agreed. “Sometimes you find yourself just swimming in his eyes.”
Blunt compared Murphy’s eyes to Billie Eilish’s 2016 hit “Ocean Eyes”. “We just hum it all day,” she quipped.
Read more here:
Emily Blunt says Cillian Murphy’s ‘ocean eyes’ were distracting on Oppenheimer set
‘Sometimes you find yourself just swimming in his eyes,’ Matt Damon said of Irish actor
Cinemagoers flock to see ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’
On Friday (21 July), London’s famous Leicester Square was packed full of cinema fans first day of the Barbie and Oppenheimer screenings.
Both films have exceeded box office predictions are just one day of release.
Scores on the doors
Review aggregate site Raotten Tomatoes is a good gauge for how each film is being received.
Barbie is being received exactly the same by critics and audiences – it currently has a 90 per cent score for each.
Meanwhile, Oppeheimer is going down slightly better – it has a 93 poer cent critic score and has a 94 per cent audience score.
Cillian Murphy admits why he might struggle to watch ‘Oppenheimer’
The ‘Peaky Blinders’ actor sat down with The Independent ahead of ‘Oppenheimer’ where he reflected on what it’s like to watch himself on screen.
“I love watching Christopher Nolan’s films when I’m not in them,” he said. “You don’t have to freak out about the size of your ears or whatever. I don’t make films so I can look at myself. I really don’t.
“Having said that, I did want to watch this movie with an audience, as that’s how it’s designed.”
Read the full interview with Murphy and Nolan here.
Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy on Oppenheimer: ‘There’s nothing bigger’
The blockbuster director and ‘Peaky Blinders’ star talk to Jacob Stolworthy about bringing to life the man who masterminded the creation of the atomic bomb
Voices: The real reason behind the Barbie movie backlash
“In the days leading up to the release of the Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, the film has endured various attacks by right-wing figures, whose issue with the movie lies in what they say is a ‘woke’ and ‘feminist’ agenda,” Nylah Burton writes for The Independent.
“No one has to like the Barbie movie, and I’m sure intelligent criticism of the film’s messaging and quality will emerge. However, attacking it because it doesn’t address ‘any notion of faith of family’ is not only ludicrous but untrue.”
Read more:
The real reason behind the Barbie movie backlash
None of these people are brave enough to admit why they hate this movie
Are You there God? It’s Me, Margaret director calls Barbie ‘truly a thing of genius’.
Barbenheimer fans warn others not to watch Barbie after Oppenheimer
There has been much discussion about the proper order to watch the Barbenheimer double feature. The actors themselves have even weighed in on the discourse.
So if you’re planning on seeing both in one day, this is how you should do it:
What order should you watch Barbie and Oppenheimer in?
Many people are attempting to take on the ‘Barbenheimer’ double bill, with both films out now
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