Master director Francis Ford Coppola (84) has not yet seen the two current cinema hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, but in a question and answer session on Instagram, the five-time Oscar winner now praised Greta Gerwig’s (39) colourful, subversive comedy and Christopher Nolan’s ( 53) Three-hour epic in the highest tones.
“The fact that people fill big theaters to see [‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’] and they’re not ‘sequels’ or ‘prequels’… without a number after the title – which means they really are unique – is a victory for cinema,” said the filmmaker behind such iconic works as “The Godfather” (1972) or “Apocalypse Now” (1979).
“Barbie” has (as of July 28) brought in the impressive sum of around 580 million US dollars (equivalent to around 526 million euros) worldwide. “Oppenheimer” was on Friday at 266 million dollars (around 241 million euros). So far, both titles have exceeded all expectations – and are still able to stay at the top of the US cinema charts on their second weekend.
Francis Ford Coppola has often spoken out against the current franchise and sequel craze in Hollywood cinema in the past. Last year, for example, the now 84-year-old filmmaker unflatteringly described Marvel films as the eternal repetition of one and the same formula. According to “Deadline”, he himself would like to see “some enlightenment, some knowledge or some inspiration” from cinema, which appeals to him.
