Recent rumors that Christopher Nolan's upcoming biopic Oppenheimer is delayed to avoid conflict with Greta Gerwig's Barbie have been debunked. Nolan's film stars Cillian Murphy in the titular role exploring the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb. It is due to be released on July 21, the same day as Gerwig's film based on the popular toy franchise. As two of 2023's most anticipated movies, they will engage in a heated battle at the box office that will no doubt see both earn hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rumors originated from comments made by the director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, who mistakenly posited that Oppenheimer would be releasing at the end of the year, leading to speculation that Universal had shifted the date to avoid a showdown with Warner Bros. However, The Wrap recently clarified the situation, affirming that Universal has no plans to move the release date. Audiences can once again speculate whether Barbie will beat Oppenheimer at the box office.
Universal Is Right Not To Delay Oppenheimer
There are many reasons to believe that despite facing fierce competition from Barbie, Oppenheimer will be a huge box office success. It features a star-studded cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, and Rami Malek alongside Murphy. Nolan is one of the few directors in the world who can sell a film with his name alone. Despite being released in the depths of the pandemic to a mixed reception, his latest entry Tenet still managed to gross over $365 million worldwide. Now that the box office has had three years to recover since then, Oppenheimer has the chance to reach even higher numbers reflective of some of his earlier releases, including Inception and The Dark Knight.
Barbie will also be a massive draw with its own all-star cast featuring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, John Cena, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell. It also has the advantage of already having immense popularity thanks to the Hasbro selection of toys as well as various cross-media products. Gerwig has also found plenty of success as a director with Little Women and Lady Bird. Barbie is poised to be immensely successful at the box office, but Universal is still right not to delay Oppenheimer. Nolan's IMAX-shot epic promises to be a cinematic marvel, which the studio seems to be confident will win the favor of audiences over the Warner Bros. summer blockbuster.
Source: The Wrap