Multiplex owners and trade analysts are expecting two English blockbusters, Barbie and Oppenheimer – jokingly called Barbenheimer – to release on Friday and are expected to fetch Rs. 150 crores at the box office.
Directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is expected to reach 100 crores. 100 crores, but the gap between the two is narrowing as Barbie catches on.
Kamal Gianchandani, chief business planning & strategy at PVR (which merged with Inox) said Oppenheimer’s box office collection was double or more than Barbie’s. “But based on Saturday and Sunday box office trends, Barbie now has about 50 percent of the Nolan movie’s collection,” he said.
While Oppenheimer performed up to expectations, which were ambitious, Barbie exceeded expectations. While no other languages are dubbed in IMAX showing Oppenheimer (with higher ticket prices), it does more than 50 percent more than the industry predicted.
In the US, Barbie is miles ahead of Oppenheimer at the box office, and India has bucked the trend. After the long break caused by the pandemic, multiplex owners are hoping that the success of these films will help bring moviegoers back to theatres.
The film industry estimates that the capacity utilization of the screens showing these two films has gone up to 80-85 per cent and in the last two days in IMAX theatres, it has gone up to almost 100 per cent. 2,500.
As a result, Oppenheimer’s first two day box office collection crossed 1000 crores. 32 crores while Barbie earned around Rs 100 crores. 12 crores.
“The trend of moviegoers going back despite the monsoons started with Mission Impossible, which, despite being a more mass film, earned Rs 1000 crore. 80 crore in the first week,” said trade analyst Komal Nahta. Turn to page 6 >
“I hope Oppenheimer may reach Rs 2,000. 100 crore, which would be much higher than the Rs.2000 for Barbie. 50 crore, so things are looking up,” added Nahta.
A big Hindi film is also in the pipeline. Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani will release this week after a gap of eight years. It is being prepared with a budget of around 100 crores. 150 crore and is expected to give a big boost to Hindi films which haven’t had a big hit since Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan in January.
Another was the more unexpected hit Kerala Story, which brought audiences back to the screen. Theater owners say there will be a big movie every three to four weeks till the end of December.