Francis Ford Coppola thinks Barbenheimer proves we’re on ‘verge of a Golden Age of cinema’
He said the box office smashes of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ is a “victory for cinema”
Francis Ford Coppola has said that he thinks that the world is on “the verge of a Golden Age of cinema”.
The Apocalypse Now filmmaker, who has been working on a new movie called Megalopolis, credited such a belief to the success of Barbenheimer, the internet phenomenon of the two big name, standalone movies Barbie and Oppenheimer opening on the same weekend.
The huge box office success of both films has suggested that audiences are still hungry to catch blockbusters in cinemas. Barbie took $162 million (£126 million) on the opening weekend (starting 21 July) while Oppenheimer took $82.4 million (£63.8 million).
Coppola took to his personal Instagram account over the weekend to answer questions from fans and was soon asked for his thoughts on Barbenheimer.
“I have yet to see them,” Coppola answered one fan. “But the fact that people are filling big theatres to see them and that they are neither sequels nor prequels, no number attached to them, meaning they are true one-offs, is a victory for cinema.”
In a separate question, Coppola was asked to share his thoughts about the future of cinema. “My hunch is that we’re on the verge of a golden age,” he said. “Wonderful and illuminating cinema seen in large theatres.”
Revisit Rolling Stone UK’s look at the battle of the big guns in this Barbenheimer piece.