Barbie Movie Gets Release Date, Opens Against Christopher Nolan

Barbie, the upcoming film based on the beloved toy line, has officially been given the same release date period as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Oscar-nominated Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig is helming the film, which will be the first live-action adaptation of the eponymous doll for Warner Bros. Studios. The first official image of Margot Robbie as Barbie was recently released at CinemaCon 2022, which showed Robbie’s titular character sporting a smile and driving her signature pink convertible.

The Barbie project, which has been in development for years, is being billed as a romantic comedy. It features an all-star cast including Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, along with America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, and Will Ferrell in so-far unknown supporting roles, to name a few. Gerwig was confirmed as Barbie‘s director in 2021, while Marriage Story director Noah Baumbach will co-write the script. However, while its star-studded cast has already received high praise, plot details for the Barbie movie have been kept under wraps. Now, however, the film has a release date.

According to a tweet from Exhibitor Relations Co., the Barbie release date is reported to be July 21, 2023. This puts the film in the same release window as Nolan’s highly-anticipated Oppenheimer. The tweet playfully detailed the match-up between the two films as “BARBIE VS THE BOMB,” referring to Oppenheimer centering around the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. See the full tweet below:

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Nolan had a long-time working relationship with Warner Bros. for years with several hit films including Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and The Dark Knight trilogy. Unfortunately, due to the underwhelming box office performance of Nolan’s Tenet during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his push back against the same-day release model on HBO Max, the renowned filmmaker eventually severed ties with the studio. He then took Oppenheimer to Universal, where it is currently being filmed. However, with its release date still set in stone, it will now be up to audiences whether Oppenheimer or Warner Bros.’ Barbie will come out on top on the weekend of July 21, 2023.

Oppenheimer is one of the more anticipated films of 2023 due to Nolan’s popularity and its star-studded cast. Barbie, on the other hand, is an iconic toy, and a live-action film with an equally stacked ensemble of A-list actors is already generating huge interest. It is unlikely that Warner Bros. wanted to complete directly with Nolan now the director and studio are no longer working together, but the release date for Barbie and Oppenheimer will no doubt be an interesting weekend to watch the box office. While Oppenheimer is expected to be a hit, Barbie may put up some big competition.