Hollywood feels more like the centre of the universe than ever this week as the arrival of the two biggest films of the year coincides with a historic actors’ strike.
Anticipation for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has reached a fever pitch ahead of their release in unison on 21 July.
While Oppenheimer’s critical ratings have blown past Barbie with a near-perfect Rotten Tomato score, it’s expected that the latter will, in fact, take over the former in ticket sales.
Barbie is estimated to earn $110m at the US box office during opening weekend, while Oppenheimer is set to take in $50m.
Axios has reported this week that movie theatres in Texas, Washington DC and Atlanta have already sold out of tickets for the Margot Robbie-led feature about the famous toy doll.
Oppenheimer’s London premiere was cut short, however, as the cast left early in preparation for the SAG-AFTRA strike order, which was initiated hours after the event.
