Box Office Projections For Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' and Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' Revealed

Los Angeles, July 1 - Filmmakers Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's Atomic bomb drama "Oppenheimer" are two of the most anticipated Hollywood movies releasing this summer. What is more intriguing is that both movies are coming on the same day (July 21), indulging in one of the most epic box office battles in recent times.

In the early box office projections, revealed yesterday (June 30), "Barbie" is tracking to open much bigger than "Oppenheimer". According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. romantic comedy film, based on the iconic Mattel toy line of dolls, is expected to score between $70 million and $80 million in the domestic (North America) opening weekend.



"Barbie" stars Margot Robbie in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken alongside an ensemble supporting cast that includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The official premise of the movie states, "After being expelled from the utopian Barbie Land for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie and Ken go on a journey of self-discovery to the real world".

Nolan's biographical thriller film "Oppenheimer" is tracking for a domestic debut in the $40 million - $50 million range. If the movie opens in the lower projection, it would be one of the lowest openings for Nolan's film. However, the movie could have long legs as reports say it is one of the finest movies ever made.

"Oppenheimer" is Nolan's first film not to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures domestically or internationally since "Memento" (2000), as well as his first film to receive an R rating since "Insomnia" (2002). Given the R rating and a direct clash with an equally strong film, the opening between $40 million and $50 million is not that bad for this Universal Pictures pic.

The movie is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer, with a supporting ensemble cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh, among many others.

Stay tuned...