New Delhi:- July has promised to pit celebrities against each other, which has already caught the attention of Indian film lovers. If you live under a rock, Greta Gerwig's Barbie - the iconic doll created by Ruth Handler in 1959 - is about to make its cinematic debut. The movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, hits theaters on July 21.

And he will play Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy. Oppenheimer sold 90,000 tickets on the first day at PVR, INOX and Cinepolis, but experts say Barbie is 16,000 behind. Advance sales of Oppenheimer's tickets have already surpassed 300,000 since they went on sale three weeks ago, according to ticketing platform Book My Show.

“It is especially encouraging that Hollywood movies are doing so well. Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1 (MI 7) set the pace, followed by the highly anticipated box office showdown between Oppenheimer and Barbie," said Ashish Salsena, COO of BookMyShow Cinema. 

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He added that ticket sales for both films are accelerating as the opening weekend approaches. “Both films have generated huge buzz around the world, but Nolan’s Oppenheimer got off to a very impressive start in India. Unsurprisingly, it topped the list in terms of sales.” Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Chennai will be selling tickets on our platform as Oppenheimer will be the only film to hit IMAX screens this week. I lead the majority of the," he said.

“On board the Nolan Express, a whopping 42% of the tickets booked on BookMyShow were for immersive film formats, especially the IMAX format. We are doing it,” added Saksena. 

BookMyShow said Barbie dolls also have a lot of interest and an enthusiastic audience, especially young people. “The attractive trailer with its dark humor has attracted a lot of people and pre-orders start this weekend (July 15th). The film has already sold over 54,000 tickets on Book My Show. Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Kolkata top the list, with other theaters and cinemas across India still open for bookings," he said.

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As is the global trend, many moviegoers have already booked tickets for these two highly anticipated Hollywood movies of his. On BookMyShow, 8% of those who bought Oppenheimer tickets also booked Barbie tickets, with the majority choosing to see both on the same day. "In fact, we also found that 22% of Oppenheimer's traders had recently seen 'MI 7', which is further evidence of their strong advocacy for quality Hollywood spectacle on screen" he added.  

The industry expects anticipation to rise due to the hype around both social media conversations and its marketing tactics. "We are optimistic that these two films will bring audiences of all types to theaters for the ultimate cinematic experience," he said.

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According to rough estimates by entertainment portal Sacnilk, MI 7 raised Rs 17.3 billion in India on July 16, Rs 12.3 billion on the first day and Rs 4.79 billion on Monday.

The two hyped and going to be the most watched and the best movies yet released named as the Barbie and Oppenheimer are currently receiving many pre bookings on the app BookMyShow and also have crossed the bookings limit.