Barbie cast turn London Eye pink to celebrate film premiere
Cinemas around the world are busier than ever thanks to the arrival of two films that have rapidly become blockbusters.
Excitement for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been in overdrive in the run-up to their simultaneous release, which has finally arrived.
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, is now expected to double the Cillian Murphy-starring biopic’s box office takings.
However, both releases have shot past their expectations in a huge way, perhaps proving that audiences are tired of sequels and superhero films.
Barbie was estimated to earn $110m at the US box office during opening weekend, with Oppenheimer‘s total was projected to sit around $50m. Impressively, Barbie is now on track to take $150m, with Nolan’s drama set to amass $75m.
Speaking in a new interview with The Independent, Nolan described Oppenheimer as “the biggest film I’ve made”. Meanwhile, 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’s London premiere was cut short, however, as the cast left early in preparation for the SAG-AFTRA strike order, which was initiated hours after the event.
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.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 17:30
Will ‘Oppenheimer’ be released in Japan?
For obvious reasons, some fans are wondering whether Oppenheimer will have a theatrical release in Japan.
The Independent understands that plans for the film’s release have not yet been finalised in all markets. Japan also tends to release later than other markets with Barbie coming out on 11 August there.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 16:30
‘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.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 15:30
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”.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 15:00
Our verdict on ‘Barbie’
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie gets the five-star treatment from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey:
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 14:30
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.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 14:02
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.
London’s Leicester Square packed as fans celebrate ‘Barbenheimer’ release
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 13:30
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.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 12:55
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.
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 12:00
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.”
Jacob Stolworthy22 July 2023 11:30