The box office battle of the century is going to be waged by two films that couldn’t be any more different from each other, and the jury is out on which one will emerge victorious in the titanic tussle between Great Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
In one corner, there’s a star-studded ensemble cast dripping with awards season recognition and critical acclaim being directed by a multi-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker known for their powerful, moving, and gripping dramas. In the other, though, there’s Oppenheimer.
Of course, it’s entirely within the realms of possibility that a lot of people will go and see both in the same day to make July 21 a banner day for the box office, but the burning question is which one comes first. Thanks to Barbie dropping a brand new full-length trailer, perhaps it’s time for Nolan to start getting worried about his long-gestating passion project’s release date of choice.
Is it even going to be deemed as an upset if Barbie does manage to topple Oppenheimer in terms of earning power, at least in its first weekend? Apples and oranges wouldn’t quite be doing it justice, but given that Nolan has carved out a reputation for being one of the few filmmakers on the planet who can sell a project based entirely on his name and nothing else, he might have the edge.
On the other hand, Barbie is one of the most iconic IPs the pop culture sphere has ever known, so it’s going to be a fascinating showdown to say the least.