Movie buffs in the pink at Barbenheimer boom
It’s the biggest cinematic event of the year: the box office stand-off, and unlikely alliance, of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Barbenheimer is here. It’s the biggest cinematic event of the year: the box office stand-off, and unlikely alliance, of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
You’d be hard-pressed to think of two films more discordant in tone and subject. Yet, because of that contrast and a shared July 20 release date, these box office titans have become inextricably linked. So much so that each time Barbie released a new trailer, Oppenheimer would trend on Twitter.
HAPPY BARBENHEIMER RELEASE WEEK pic.twitter.com/9rMbMPvr62
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) July 17, 2023
In one camp we have the blindingly pink Barbie – a fizzy romp that stars Margot Robbie as a glitching-out doll who must leave the glacéd safety of Barbieland to venture into the real world on a journey of self-discovery. It’s a candy-coated speedball propelled by a gluttonous pop soundtrack, complete with neon-slicked rollerblades and a John Cena cameo.
In the other camp we have Oppenheimer – Nolan’s solemn three-hour epic based on the biography American Prometheus, in which an intense Cillian Murphy stars as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who led the Manhattan Project, producing the first atomic bombs during WWII. The shared release date is not happenstance; rather, it’s an age-old film distribution trick known as “counter-programming” – studios strategically release two films to attract distinct audiences. Think: 10 Things I Hate About You v The Matrix, A Fish Called Wanda v Die Hard, Toy Story v Casino and Jumanji v Heat. Nolan himself faced the tactic in 2008 when his brooding Batman film, The Dark Knight, went up against the exuberant Mamma Mia.
But the clash of Barbie and Oppenheimer has yielded an unlikely box office alliance. Audiences have embraced their shared release date, and some are choosing to watch both on the same day in a double feature dubbed Barbenheimer. A debate about which order to see them in – Barbie first to match the early afternoon vibes, or Oppenheimer first to start nutritious and end on desserts – has been raging online for weeks.
My official Barbenheimer schedule pic.twitter.com/XNaxfRRLFF
— Harry Hill (@veryharryhill) July 20, 2023
The US National Association of Theatre Owners reports more than 200,000 fans will attend same-day viewings. Palace Cinemas head of marketing Alex Moir tells The Weekend Australian: “We have a strong indication that people are seeing both films on the same day.”
Moving Story Entertainment marketing manager
Jaymes Durant notes a “postmodern meme culture” around the films, which has manifested into a cottage industry of custom merchandise and double-feature endorsements from none other than box office saviour Tom Cruise.
“Barbenheimer has captured the whole pool of cinemagoers because there are two completely different markets involved,” Mr Durant says. “That’s really fuelled ticket sales. People are debating which order they’re going to see the films in.” But he warns that, having watched both, a double bill is not for the faint of heart: “Oppenheimer is a very difficult, long film. For me, seeing them back to back is an impossible feat.”
Hollywood emerges as the true victor in this celluloid tussle. For the first time since the pandemic, movies are at the forefront of the pop culture conversation. “I can’t remember a time that cinema has been this big,” says Bruce Isaacs, a senior lecturer in Film Studies at Sydney University, who plans to watch Barbie and Oppenheimer as a double bill this weekend.
The stars of both Barbie and Oppenheimer have expressed delight at the double-feature concept. “I’ll be going to see Barbie 100 per cent. I can’t wait to see it,” Murphy told IGN.
More Coverage
