OPPENHEIMER (2023): Christopher Nolan’s Universal Release Will Go Up Against Nolan’s Former Studio Warner Bros. at the Box-Office

Christopher Nolan Frustrated to Compete with Former Studio

Christopher Nolan has expressed some concerns about going up against his former studio, Warner Bros., at the box-office with his new film, Oppenheimer.

Barbenheimer is what it’s being called by people all over the country. It’s the showdown of Warner Bros. versus Universal Pictures at the box-office. Christopher Nolan is not exactly ecstatic about the situation. Nolan’s film over at Universal, Oppenheimer, will be going up against Barbie from Warner Bros. at the box-office. While Barbie could win the opening weekend at theaters, Nolan’s film won’t be going anywhere anytime soon given its tremendous awards potential. Word has circulated that Ryan Gosling’s turn in Barbie could be Oscar-worthy, but does he stand a chance against Cillian Murphy to take home the gold at Oscar time for Oppenheimer? Probably not.

Nolan worked for Warner Bros. in the past but left the studio after Tenet‘s theatrical release was poorly handled during the pandemic. Now, Warner Bros. is placing a roadblock to Nolan’s Oppenheimer winning out at the box-office next weekend: Barbie. The good news is that tickets have been moving for both films with moviegoers planning on doing a double feature that weekend. The problem is that Oppenheimer‘s three-hour length will allow for less showings per day than Barbie so Barbie will probably win out at least for the first weekend of the competition between these two movies.

While Nolan believes a crowded, diverse marketplace is a good thing for those who love the theater-going experience, there is apparently some uneasiness about the choice for Warner Bros. to release their film the same weekend as Nolan’s. When Nolan made films like Inception for Warner Bros., the box-office results were great. Now, Warner Bros. is raining on his parade since Oppenheimer won’t be the stand-alone hit at number one on the box-office charts next weekend.

With Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One coming out this weekend, there’s the off chance that Barbie and Oppenheimer could come in at numbers two and three at the box-office when they open. Still, when the final box-office numbers are tallied, Oppenheimer could stand at about $200 million-plus domestically and Barbie won’t be too far ahead unless terrific word of mouth holds for it all summer long. Nolan’s big budget and star-studded cast almost ensures Oppenheimer will get widely seen regardless of how Nolan feels about Warner Bros. stealing some of his opening weekend glory. Barbie is being poised as a dark horse Academy Award contender but outside of Gosling and technical nods, it faces an uphill battle with Oscar. Yes, Greta Gerwig directed it, and it would be interesting to see a movie like Barbie win Gerwig an Oscar nod for Best Director but when comparing the very fabric of both movies, it’s most likely going to be Oppenheimer which has more overall substance. Time will surely tell.

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