In the battle of 2023's biggest movies, hasBarbieorOppenheimerreigned supreme?

As it stands, Barbie has an impressive 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, while Oppenheimer has a stunning 94 per cent on the review aggregator website.

The two movies have almost merged into one, due to their release dates being set at the same time, along with their promo schedules, but the films themselves couldn't be more different.

Greta Gerwig'sBarbie is a colourful, hilarious, irreverent, and meta film that dives headfirst into Barbie Land, with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling giving career-defining performances. Christopher Nolan'sOppenheimeris a biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, as played by an Oscar-worthy Cillian Murphy.

Watch our interview with Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig. Post continues after video.

So which one is better? Or should you see both? On the same day perhaps, Barbenheimer-style? Check out our roundup of both of the movies' reviews.

The best reviews.

Barbiehas received a bunch of glowing reviews:

"Barbieis one of the most inventive, immaculately crafted and surprising mainstream films in recent memory," wrote a five-star review inThe Independent.

"While it's impossible for any studio film to be truly subversive, especially when consumer culture has caught on to the idea that self-awareness is good for business,Barbiegets away with far more than you'd think was possible."

"Barbieis an impressive achievement as a film and far, far funnier than any studio comedy I can remember in recent history," wrote Alissa Wilkinson forVox. "There are perfect jokes about everything from stilettos to boy bands to fascism and Matchbox Twenty; I’m still giggling at some of the gags."

"The Oscar-nominated filmmaker has crafted a fierce, funny, and deeply feminist adventure that dares you to laugh and cry, even if you're made of plastic," wrote Devan Coggan inEntertainment Weekly .

“An earnest feminist manifesto inside a barbed social satire inside an effervescent musical comedy," wroteSlate .

Oppenheimerhas also copped an overwhelmingly positive response:

"Oppenheimeris Christopher Nolan’s best and most revealing work. It’s a profoundly unnerving story told with a traditionalist’s eye towards craftsmanship and muscular, cinematic imagination," wrote Clarisse Loughrey forThe Independent .

In a five-star review fromEmpire, the reviewer wrote thatOppenheimerwas a "masterfully constructed character study from a great director operating on a whole new level. A film that you don’t merely watch, but must reckon with."

"A film depicting mostly quotidian human interaction is somehow paced like a thriller, and the tension never stops mounting, right up to the closing shot," wrote David Klion inThe New Republic .

Quick!Listen to this episode of The Spill reviewing Barbie. Post continues after podcast.

The worst reviews.

Barbieis a divisive film, therefore not everyone enjoyed the movie's feminist overtones and woke sensibilities.

"It’s a movie that’s enormously pleased with itself," wrote Stephanie Zacharek forTime Magazine. "Barbienever lets us forget how clever it’s being, every exhausting minute."

In another review,Barbiewas described as "an empty movie designed for the vacuous social media age," theNew York Postwrote.

Over on the ABC, Michael Sun wrote that "By its own admission, it is a film for everyone – and therefore no-one. For all its confectionary diversions,Barbieis a hardened attempt at wholesale appeal: as plastic as its candy-coloured sets."

It was much harder to find a negative review forOppenheimer, butForbeswere not fans.

"It’s slow and often hard to follow...Oppenheimeris much too long and its delivery far too muddled to be considered anything more than a visually provocative biopic that seems less interested in character study than it does in setting a mood," wrote Erik Kain forForbes.

A couple of pieces have also pointed out how the depiction of women in the biopic was lacklustre.

"Florence Pugh, as Oppenheimer’s mistress Jean Tatlock, gets short shrift," wrote Wendy Ide forThe Guardian. "Emily Blunt spends much of the first two hours mutinously clutching a martini on the edge of the frame."

Voguepublished a piece simply titled 'Justice for the Women ofOppenheimer' which took aim at Christopher Nolan for his "penchant for populating his films with severely under-developed female characters."

The verdict.

Both movies are genuinely great! WhileBarbiehas a wider scope of responses, the film has still received mostly positive reviews, albeit slightly less favourable thanOppenheimer.

This being said,Barbieis a far more divisive film than a historical biopic. A film about Barbie dolls told through a contemporary feminist lens is always going to get certain groups riled up, whereas it's a lot harder to get mad about a historical event that happened 80 years ago.

But when it comes to the battle of the box offices, there's really no competition: Barbiehas squishedOppenheimer with her dainty tippy-toed foot.Barbieis estimated to make $300 million worldwide on its first weekend opening whileOppenheimeris projected to make a $165.9 million worldwide profit.

Either sum is absolutely huge in terms of box office precedents, as the Barbenheimer buzz has encouraged both movies to be watched in tandem.

Whether one is getting slightly better reviews than the others, there are no losers in this war.

Feature image: Universal Pictures + Warner Bros.

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