Hollywood icon Tom Cruise reveals whether he is planning to watch Barbie or Oppenheimer first. Both major releases are set to open in theaters on July 21 and have been pitted against one another in one of the biggest box office battles of recent times. The Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie, based on the Mattel toy of the same name, stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and will go toe to toe with Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller about J. Robert Oppenheimer’s development of the nuclear bomb, in a battle that has been dubbed “Barbenheimer” on social media.
Cruise was recently in Sydney celebrating his 61st birthday by attending the Australian premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about the two movies releasing a week after the seventh installment of his beloved action spy franchise. Discussing the upcoming releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the Top Gun star revealed that he plans to see both films, and that he still enjoys going to the movies, stating, “I love seeing movies on the big screen.” Cruise said:
“I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer. I’ll see them opening weekend. Friday I’ll see Oppenheimer first and then Barbie on Saturday.”
How Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Could Fare Against Barbie & Oppenheimer
Cruise has enjoyed one of the most successful and enduring careers in the film industry, and his Mission: Impossible franchise will compete with both Barbie and Oppenheimer over the summer, with Dead Reckoning due for a July 12 release. Cruise was reportedly outspoken about the movies taking IMAX screens from Dead Reckoning, which might impact its box office success. Hot off the back of Top Gun: Maverick’s mammoth 2022 box office haul of $1.496 billion, a lot of attention is being placed on how Mission: Impossible 7 fares.
While Cruise’s concerns may not be unfounded, the signs do seem to point to Mission: Impossible 7 doing just fine, with the previous installment passing the $800 million mark. Indeed, Dead Reckoning passing the coveted $1 billion threshold is not out of the question, which is expected to be enough to beat both Barbie and Oppenheimer, even if it did lose IMAX screens and also faces competition from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Projections certainly look strong for Mission: Impossible 7, while early box office predictions have Barbie opening ahead of Oppenheimer. It is worth mentioning that despite the report indicating Cruise was unhappy with Dead Reckoning losing IMAX screens, he has been incredibly supportive of both Barbie and Oppenheimer, and has called on audiences to come out to theaters to see a wide variety of movies this summer. The competition between Barbie and Oppenheimer could mark the rebirth of the theatrical summer tentpole battles that were once a staple of the Hollywood box office.