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”.
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
Rishi Sunak has seen ‘Barbie’
Getting in on Barbenheimer this weekend was Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who wrote: “The family vote was only ever going one way… Barbie first it is #Barbenheimer.”
Although it seems if he was planning on double billing with Oppenheimer, which has a 15 age certificate, he would have had to send his nine and 11year-old daughters home first.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 06:00
Barbie release delayed in Pakistan over ‘objectionable content’
The release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was delayed in Pakistan’s Punjab province over “objectionable content”.
Officials said the film would be reviewed and need clearance from the provincial boards that censor scenes violating the country’s social, cultural, and religious values.
“There will be a full review of the film, and it will be censored where deemed necessary,” Farrukh Mahmood, secretary of the Punjab Film Censor Board, told AFP.
The board did not clarify which content was “objectionable,” or why.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 05:30
Barbie and Oppenheimer beat global box office records
Warner Bros’ Barbie and Universal’s Oppenheimer have delivered massive global debuts of $337m and $174.2m, respectively.
At the international box office, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, collected $182m from 69 markets.
On the other hand, Christopher Nolan’s Cillian Murphy-led Oppenheimer in 78 markets earned a whopping $93.7m overseas.
Speaking of the result, Andrew Cripps, Warner Bros president of international theatrical distribution, told Deadline: “The incredible worldwide results we’ve seen are a testament to the filmmakers’ singular vision to provide a fun and engaging experience that audiences of all ages are responding to in a fun and powerful way.”
Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of distribution for Universal Pictures International, added: “We couldn’t be happier for Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, the phenomenal cast and crew, and our partners at Imax and exhibition around the world.”
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 05:00
‘Barbenheimer’ leads box office with $235m opening in North America
The films Barbie and Oppenheimer attracted cinemagoers in record numbers for their opening weekend in North America, earning a combined sum of $235.5m.
Warner Bros’ Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, generated $155m in ticket sales while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer bagged $80.5m.
Peony Hirwani24 July 2023 04:33
