Christopher Nolan is unfazed by his new film Oppenheimer competing directly with Barbie at the box office.

The director told IGN on Wednesday he thinks it’s “terrific” that the films will open in cinemas on the same day.

“Summer, in a healthy marketplace, is always crowded, and we’ve been doing this a long time,” The Dark Knight director noted. “I think for those of us who care about movies, we’ve been really waiting to have a crowded marketplace again, and now it’s here and that’s terrific.”

Cillian Murphy, who stars in the title role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the film, agreed with Nolan, telling the publication he thinks it’s “great”.

“I mean, I’ll be going to see Barbie. I can’t wait to see it,” the 47-year-old admitted. “I think it’s just great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out the same day. Could spend a whole day in the cinema, what’s better than that?”

Matt Damon, who also stars in the film, backed up his co-star’s sentiment by adding, “(His good friend) Ben (Affleck) and I used to go to two movies every weekend, and I think people should do that.”

Barbie director Greta Gerwig and producer/actress Margot Robbie previously expressed their support for their box office rival by posing for a photo in which they held Oppenheimer cinema tickets in front of the film’s poster.

Oppenheimer and Barbie both open in cinemas on 21 July.

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