Two highly anticipated movies, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” are generating immense excitement among Indian audiences as they both release on July 21. With the Indian box office facing a dry spell for several quarters, these movies are expected to make a significant impact. Theaters are capitalizing on the global craze by setting up countdown timers and screening “Oppenheimer” at midnight on its US release date. PVR-Inox is even running an “Oppenheimer” movie marathon for the opening weekend. “Barbenheimer” has garnered tremendous interest, with combined advance ticket sales of 900,000 for the opening weekend. It made it the highest for any film outside the Marvel or Avatar series. The Indian box office hopes that these highly-anticipated films will help it overcome the challenges it has been facing due to underperforming big-budget movies.
Why All the Fuss About Barbie And Oppenheimer?
Gerwig’s Barbie is based on one of the most well-known cultural icons, the Barbie fashion doll, which let millions of children realise their dreams. The cast of Gerwig’s Barbie includes Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling among others. Barbie will draw attention since we all have fond memories of the days when she ruled the world of children. Barbie is regarded as the undisputed king of fashion, and the arrival of the movie will accelerate Barbie fashion fads.
Cillian Murphy and an all-star cast are featured in the film Oppenheimer, which depicts the narrative of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is credited with developing the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. In addition to the subject, we all know that Christopher Nolan’s films offer an experience unlike any other. In contrast to Barbie, the director is to blame for Oppenheimer’s mania in this instance. People who are familiar with Nolan’s work are aware of his preference for realism. The audience is enthralled by how Nolan accurately portrayed the Trinity test, the first nuclear weapon explosion, in the movie. According to Nolan, Oppenheimer did not use any visual effects in making the movie, which was shot using IMAX film cameras.
Effect of Barbenheimer in India
The box office is facing challenges with weak shows, leading to a decline in net box office collections for Bollywood and Hollywood genres in 1QFY24. Excluding regional movies, the NBOC saw a YoY decline of 14.6% to Rs 920 crore. While ‘The Kerala Story’ proved to be a sleeper hit with Rs 200 crore, other movies like ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ and ‘Adipurush’ had subdued collections impacting overall performance. The lackluster performance of big-budget Hindi films has dragged down the box office. It resulted in concerns about sluggish growth in footfall. Theaters like PVR-Inox are also expected to see a revenue slip due to underperformance.
Bookings of Barbenheimer
Both Oppenheimer and Barbie have garnered significant attention and ticket sales on the booking site BookMyShow. Oppenheimer has already sold over 800,000 tickets, with cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Chennai leading in ticket sales.
Meanwhile, Barbie’s captivating trailer has won over many fans, selling more than 250,000 tickets, with similar cities leading in sales. Surprisingly, both films have attracted viewers booking tickets for both. Despite their contrasting themes, and many audience members plan to watch both movies on the same day. The box office’s response to this ‘double-feature’ frenzy is yet to be seen.
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