Oppenheimer ruling Indian theatres

By Priyal Joshi:

Cinema lovers worlwide have been keenly waiting for the release of the Christopher Nolan directed biographical thriller ‘Oppenheimer’ featuring Cilian Murphy in the lead role. The wait is finally over! It is out in theatres today. Due to the enormous amount of advance bookings it has received, the movie is anticipated to have a strong opening day in India. For the opening day, Oppenheimer has managed to sell over two lakh tickets. For the opening weekend, PVR-Inox will run an ‘Oppenheimer’ movie marathon, with back-to-back shows over a 24-hour period.  Talking about Barbie and Oppenheimer Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, of PVR INOX Limited, in an interview with Forbes India, said, “It’s an unusual face-off. We’ve known the phenomenon of two Hindi movies going head-to-head, but for two Hollywood films, of such different genres, to be so hotly anticipated in India is quite new.” It was able to make a place in people’s hearts without any promotions in India. Indian audiences were already fascinated with the director’s previous works- Inception, Interstellar, Tenet, The Dark Knight trilogy.

 It seems the movie is going to revive the box office business since the cinema halls haven’t seen many successes in the first half of this year. ‘Barbie’ by Greta Gerwig is a formidable rival to the Nolan directed ‘Oppenheimer’. In any case, this week will provide audiences with a visual treat as two major blockbusters will be playing in theaters. Which of the two wins over movie enthusiasts’ hearts will remain to be seen. Pankaj Jaysinh, CEO – Film Distribution, UFO Moviez India, also shared a similar opinion and stated, “Oppenheimer is releasing in two languages (English and Hindi) and has terrific advance bookings. There is a great level of awareness and interest among the audiences since this movie is based on real life. We expect the movie to gross Rs 7 crore on Day 1. Barbie would make around Rs 3 to Rs 4 cr is my estimate.” On its opening day, Oppenheimer is expected to make a humongous Rs 15 crore. In any case, this week will provide audiences with a visual treat as two major blockbusters will be playing in theaters