For two decades, Christopher Nolan was the undisputed jewel in Warner Bros.’ crown, with the filmmaker remaining part of the studio furniture through thick and thin, and he was always guaranteed to deliver a blockbuster smash hit and potential awards season contender into the bargain.
However, the pandemic saw their relationship hit the rocks due to the Academy Award-nominated director’s outspoken views on releasing major titles straight to streaming on the same day they hit theaters, as well as his staunch refusal to allow Tenet to even be considered for a simultaneous HBO Max release.
The breakup was official when the duo parted ways, causing every major outfit in Hollywood to try and swoop in on the rebound, with Universal emerging victorious when it secured Nolan’s Oppenheimer. However, the twist in the tale is that his latest feature lands on the big screen the exact same day as Barbie, with the hotly-anticipated comedy coincidentally being a Warner Bros. picture.
Is it a coincidence, or something more jealous and spiteful? Well, according to Matthew Belloni of Puck, WB has allegedly manufactured the box office battle of the century for the sole purpose of sticking it to Universal, who wooed Nolan away from their loving embrace after 20 years of constant bliss.
It sounds like the sort of thing David Zaslav’s outfit would do, but with Oppenheimer being confirmed for an R-rating, the heavyweight slugfest isn’t quite as massive as we expected it to be, with Barbie potentially set to win fairly easily.
