‘Oppenheimer’ leaves behind ‘Barbie’ at the Indian box office, touches 50 crore mark in two days

New Delhi: “Oppenheimer” may have drawn ire from Hindutva activists for Cillian Murphy and Elizabeth Pugh, playing Robert Oppenheimer, reciting the Bhagavad Gita in the middle of a sex scene, but it has far outdone “Barbie” at the box office.

According to trade data website, Saknilk, while ‘Barbie’ was expected to earn around Rs 18.58 crore (gross collection before deduction of taxes) by the end of Sunday, after a slow start of Rs 5 crore on Friday and only marginal growth thereafter.

Meanwhile, its rival in ‘Barbenheimer’ sweepstakes, is likely to end its first weekend with a collection of Rs 49.25 crore (gross), maintaining a steady inflow of around Rs 17 crore on each of the first three days.

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This is in stark contrast to the opening (Thursday-Friday) box-office returns in North America, where ‘Barbie’ is the clear leader.

According to Deadline, “Barbie” is set to gross over an estimated $300 million worldwide by Sunday (with a target of over $150 million each from North America and a combined 69 overseas markets). Deadline says “Oppenheimer” is projected to gross $165.9 million worldwide through Sunday, including $88.9 million internationally.

In India, Tom Cruise’s blockbuster, ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One’, continues to be the market leader, having collected Rs 98.35 crore gross till last Friday, July 21, well ahead of two recent Hindi releases: ‘Zara Hatke Zara Bachke’ and ‘Satyprem Ki Katha’.