India swept up in the ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ mania

'Barbenheimer' is currently accomplishing what Bollywood films were unable to this year.

Hyderabad: When was the last time you were giddy with anticipation to watch a Hollywood movie on the big screen? Was it during the release of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Joker’ in theatres in 2019 or was it only back when ‘James Bond’ and ‘Titanic’ films were released years ago?

Although ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ was able to capture the curiosity of Indian fans last year, the anticipation around two of Hollywood’s biggest films, ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’, is unmatched. Even though the movies didn’t debut until last Friday, PVR and IMAX theatres have been completely booked for the past two weeks.

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The craze is so intense that fans are dressing in pink and purple for ‘Barbie’ and black for ‘Oppenheimer’ to see the shows. Reels and content on ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie,’ in particular, are abundant on social media sites, especially Instagram. This trend has been tagged as ‘Barbenheimer’ by online users.

Both the films are raking in huge moolah as well. ‘Oppenheimer,’ starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Rami Malek, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Florence Pugh, among other stellar performers, made more than Rs 60 crore at the box-office over the weekend. On the other hand, ‘Barbie’ starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, didn’t disappoint either as it brought in Rs 20 crore. According to trade analysts, the films are driving audiences to the theatres like never before. ‘Barbenheimer’ is currently accomplishing what Bollywood films were unable to this year.

What, therefore, can be the cause of this obsession with seeing English films in cinemas even in this OTT era? The popularity of ‘Oppenheimer’ may be attributed to its director, Christopher Nolan. Indian moviegoers like Nolan and his works, including the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy, ‘Inception’, ‘Tenet’, and ‘Interstellar’. The biographical thriller film chronicles the life of J Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist who was pivotal in developing the first nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project, and thereby ushering in the Atomic Age.

In addition, Cillian Murphy enjoys a sizeable following as a result of his portrayal of Thomas Shelby in the television series ‘Peaky Blinders’.

Meanwhile, ‘Barbie’ has inspired young girls and boys to rethink Barbie. You will forget all about the stereotypical Barbie from your childhood because the movie is so ‘woke’. The fantasy comedy film, directed by Greta Gerwig, is based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel. It is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films.