When Christopher Nolan releases a film, it is sure to be an event. The internet phenomenon that was ‘Barbenheimer’ definitely gave Nolan’s Oppenheimer a successful run at the box office.
While the Cillian Murphy starrer was not as successful as its competitor Barbie, which raked in a whopping $775 million, it still earned quite a bit of money. However, the R-rated biopic is close to beating a particular record that was till now in the hands of legendary actor-director Clint Eastwood.
Christopher Nolan V/S Warner Brothers
Ace director Christopher Nolan’s last film was the sci-fi mind-bender, Tenet. The film was released at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a lukewarm response. Nolan, who is a huge proponent of the theatrical experience, was disappointed with his usual collaborator Warner Brothers with the way they handled the release. Adding to that, WB took the controversial decision in 2021 to simultaneously release their slate of films on both cinemas and the streaming platform HBO Max. The films included Wonder Woman 1984, Dune Part 1, and more.
Post this fiasco, Christopher Nolan started shopping around his script to other studios. The filmmaker had collaborated with WB on all his films starting from Insomnia. The filmmaker had given the studio many blockbusters such as The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, and more. He had deals such as final-cut privileges, first-dollar gross, and exclusive theatrical windows with the studio. These perks would have to be met by the next studio that Nolan would choose.
In September 2021, Christopher Nolan announced that his next film would be a biopic on J Robert Oppenheimer and that it would be produced and distributed by NBCUniversal. The filmmaker had demanded a $100 million budget and an equal budget for marketing.
Barbenheimer: The Meme Of The Century
Christopher Nolan announced that his film Oppenheimer will be released on July 21, 2023, a favored summer release date of the filmmaker. His previous collaborator Warner Brothers Studios also announced that their adaptation of the Mattel toy Barbie starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig will be released on the same day. Due to its polar opposite nature, with Nolan’s film being a dark exploration of the psyche of the man who created the atomic bomb while Gerwig’s film would be exploring themes of feminism in context to the playing doll, the internet did what it does best. It turned these films into a meme.
Memes hyping up the release along with people planning a double feature event in the cinemas quickly gained traction. People planned outfits that catered to each film and decided to watch both films on the same day. The trend was also exemplified by the cast and crew of both films as they appreciated each others’ works publicly and watched the films.
‘Barbenheimer’ was a huge success as many flocked to the theatres to catch the double feature. AMC Theatres released data saying that the Barbenheimer weekend was the highest-grossing weekend in AMC history. Vue International, a cinema chain said that one-fifth of the audience came for both films.
Oppenheimer Beats The Record
While both films were extremely successful at the box office, Barbie was the clear winner with a $775 million global box office. This was an expected outcome as Barbie was a typical summer blockbuster that featured stars such as Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Oppenheimer however, was not left behind.
Nolan’s biopic on J Robert Oppenheimer has had a great run at the box office, with the drama grossing over $400 million. This exceeded expectations as the film was rated R and was not an event blockbuster film that is usually released in the summer. Christopher Nolan’s notoriety as well as the presence of stars such as Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh has brought the numbers in.
The film is also on the road to overthrowing veteran actor-director’s film American Sniper as the highest-grossing R-rated biopic. Eastwood’s war movie which starred Bradley Cooper explored the life of a sniper in post-9/11 Iraq. The film grossed a record $550 million at the global box office. Oppenheimer has already beaten the record set by Martin Scorsese with The Wolf of Wall Street. With Christopher Nolan’s biopic grossing $400 million in the second week, it is sufficient to say that the film will soon beat Eastwood’s coveted record.
Source: The Digital Fix
