31 July,2023 11:08 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Oppenheimer and Barbie stills
Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' and Great Gerwig's 'Barbie' released in theatres together on July 21 across the world. While 'Barbie' took a lead at the box office worldwide, in India 'Oppenheimer' was the clear winner. Even as the 'Barbenheimer' craze has slowed down at the box office, 'Oppenheimer' is slowly inching towards Rs 100 crore at the Indian box office.
Christopher Nolan's film starring Cillian Murphy, known as the father of the atomic bomb J Robert Oppenheimer, now stands at â¹92 crore nett. The film has been embroiled in controversy in India after it was called out by some on social media for a sex scene in which Cillian Murphy reads out a Sanskrit quote from Bhagavad Gita (without showing the book's cover). Despite the resistance, the film has been doing well in India.
Murphy said the sex scenes with co-star Florence Pugh, who plays love interest Jean Tatlock, actually have a good reason for appearing in the film. Jean Tatlock is a young Stanford Medical School student and Communist Party member and Oppenheimer's lover. While Florence Pugh had a shorter screen time than expected, her scenes definitely have a huge impact in the movie. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald about the sex scenes, Murphy said: "Those scenes were written deliberately. He knew that those scenes would get the movie the rating that it got. And I think when you see it, it's so f''''' powerful. And they're not gratuitous. They're perfect. And Florence is just amazing."
Meanwhile, Barbie has been receiving average response from India. Reportedly, the film collected Rs 3.25 crore on Sunday. The film currently stand at Rs 35.43 crore nett in India.
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The film had opened in India at Rs 5 crore and reached its highest collection of Rs 7.15 crore on its first Sunday. Barbie stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. It has been directed by Greta Gerwig who is known for films like Little Women and Lady Bird'.
On the other hand, Barbenheimer also has competition from Karan Johar's family drama 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' which has been generating excellent word of mouth response. Starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead, the film also stars Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, and Jaya Bachchan.
