Despite the fact Barbie and Oppenheimer are two of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One's biggest rivals this July, Tom Cruise welcomed the competition and suggested they should be part of a double feature for moviegoers.
Posting on Twitter, Cruise urged film lovers to check out Barbie and Oppenheimer, as well as Harrison Ford's upcoming title, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Cruise posed with tickets in front of posters of each film alongside Dead Reckoning Part One director Christopher McQuarrie, claiming he'd "love a double feature" with Barbie and Oppenheimer, saying it "doesn't get more explosive (or more pink)" than that.
Cruise's Dead Reckoning Part One debuts on July 12, nine days ahead of Barbie and Oppenheimer, which both make their cinematic premieres on July 21. The anticipated box-office showdown between Greta Gerwig's fantasy adventure film and Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller has long been hyped by fans and industry insiders. However, the much-talked-about face-off between Barbie and Oppenheimer has led to some social media rivalry between fans of each film, with the latter title's star Matt Damon calling for a truce and insisting moviegoers should try to see both.
Barbie Vs. Oppenheimer
Though Cruise's plea for support for each of these blockbusters may resonate with fans, the actor has reportedly been fighting for airtime for Dead Reckoning Part One, particularly with Oppenheimer. Recent reports suggested Cruise was angry with Oppenheimer receiving an extended run in IMAX cinemas following its premiere, replacing the latest Mission: Impossible film once it comes out. Oppenheimer was shot with IMAX large-format cameras, partly explaining its uninterrupted three-week run at IMAX theaters upon release.
Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh film in the acclaimed Mission: Impossible franchise and the first of a two-part eponymous duology, which sees Cruise's Ethan Hunt face his toughest challenges yet while facing dark elements of his past. Also starring Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Czerny and Hayley Atwell, Dead Reckoning Part One received rave reviews during its Rome premiere in June and is projected for a Mission: Impossible franchise-best opening weekend.
McQuarrie has hinted both parts of Dead Reckoning won't bring the Mission: Impossible series to a close as the director helmer a ninth film could be on the way. To date, the Mission: Impossible franchise has earned over $3.5 billion at the global box office, with the most recent sequel, Fallout, being the most commercially ($791 million) and critically successful film so far.
Dead Reckoning Part One opens in theaters across North America on July 12.
Source: Twitter