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Barbie vs Oppenheimer in bizarre box office battle

The two biggest movies to open this month are going head-to-head – Oppenheimer and Barbie. And while these films might have nothing in common, it hasn’t stopped a screening war igniting social media.

It’s been dubbed ‘Barbenheimer’ and is the unlikeliest of blockbuster battles, as the bomb goes against the bombshell.

The two biggest movies to open this month are going head-to-head – Oppenheimer and Barbie. And while these films might have nothing in common, it hasn’t stopped a screening war igniting social media.

Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, follows the story of the Manhattan Project, which developed nuclear weapons in World War II. The critically-hyped movie co-stars Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon and Florence Pugh, and is directed by Tenet’s Christopher Nolan.

Barbie, meanwhile, with Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, co-stars Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell and America Ferrera, and is directed by Little Women’s Greta Gerwig.

Both movies have been on the promo circuit before their joint Aussie opening date of July 20. And the Barbie team, at least, has been generous with its time, posing for pictures in front of Oppenheimer posters and putting it on social media.

Margot Robbie attends the Seoul Premiere of Barbie. Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Margot Robbie attends the Seoul Premiere of Barbie. Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
Cillian Murphy as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Cillian Murphy as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Tom Cruise got into the Barbenheimer spirit, tweeting a photo of himself holding tickets to Oppenheimer, Barbie and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theatres,” wrote the actor, who has become the Gandalf of cinema, the movie wizard credited with saving the industry by waiting to release Top Gun 2 on the big screen after the pandemic. His latest movie, Mission: Impossible 7 is also out now.

Tom Cruise, in Sydney recently for the Australian premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, has got into the Barbenheimer spirit. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Tom Cruise, in Sydney recently for the Australian premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, has got into the Barbenheimer spirit. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie,” he added.

Team Barbie rose to the double and triple-bill challenge a few days later, with Gerwig and Robbie posing with tickets to Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible.

“Mission: Accomplished,” they wrote, earning themselves a retweet from Cruise.

And while the technical term for scheduling very different movies on the same opening day is “counter-programming”, studio bosses didn’t counter the public’s determination to pair the films together. Who says you can’t enjoy Oppenheimer and Barbie as a double-feature? Here’s what to put on your cinema binge-list:

Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy stars in Oppenheimer.
Cillian Murphy stars in Oppenheimer.

Movie buffs can’t wait for the opening of Oppenheimer on July 20 – a film which is leaving viewers speechless, according to its director Christopher Nolan. “Some people leave the movie absolutely devastated. They can’t speak,” he told Wired. The movie stars Cillian Murphy as American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, alongside Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Gary Oldman, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, Rami Malek and many more big names.

Barbie

Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in Barbie. Picture: Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in Barbie. Picture: Warner Bros. Pictures

From the confronting true story of the atomic bomb to the blonde bombshell herself in a plastic-fantastic flick, Barbie also opens in Australia on July 20. Starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, alongside Kingsley Ben-Adir, Will Ferrell and America Ferrera, early reviews say Gosling nearly steals the show in this fiesta of fuchsia, from director Greta Gerwig. It is tipped to do very well at the box office, while Oppenheimer is expected to do well at the awards ceremonies.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Out this weekend, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One wins the prize for longest movie title and is expected to win audiences’ hearts too, as its six smash-hit predecessors have. Tom Cruise, 61, is back as action man Ethan Hunt, alongside Rebecca Ferguson and Hayley Atwell, and it is being described as “the best Mission yet”, with awesome stunts from the ageless Cruise.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Picture: Jonathan Olley
Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Picture: Jonathan Olley

Also in cinemas now is the final instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise, which first hit our screens more than 40 years ago. Harrison Ford, 81 this week, is back as Indiana Jones, alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge, for one final adventure. And while initial box office results have been cooler than expected, along with reviews, if you’re going to give Indy the whip-cracking send-off he deserves, then it needs to be seen on a big-screen.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/bomb-vs-bombshell-as-box-office-battle-heats-up/news-story/26a8d6fbe8518d2c58a2d84a28d26209