How Barbenheimer Saved the Movies
From July 20th - July 23rd 2023, theaters and malls across the US were overrun by pink. At least in Los Angeles, stepping outside wearing pink meant you would be greeted by more than a handful of “Hi Barbie!”s as you walked down the street. For my dad and I, we chose to wear a shirt with both pink and grey, split right down the middle. The word across the front? Barbenheimer.
The cultural phenomenon we now know as “Barbenheimer” was sparked by a few jokes online that two diametrically opposed films, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, would be released on the same day. As the release date grew closer, and the marketing for both films intensified, people across the country began to make their theater-going plans. Without either studio officially acknowledging the double feature, the internet took to booking up tickets to both films on the same day. The most important question being: which film are you seeing first? During my father and I’s three hour gap between the two (Oppenheimer first), we decided to do some shopping, still wearing our custom shirts. As I was perusing a rack of clothes, a man eating a light snack stopped in his tracks, pointed at me, and said, “You on your Barbenheimer break too?” Everywhere you went the movies were being discussed and debated.
Personally, it was the most fun day I’ve had at the theater. Even if you’re not particularly into film, it was a great excuse to go out with some friends and dress up. The sense of excitement was tangible when you entered the theater.
The success of this weekend can be reflected financially as well. At a time where even the most expensive blockbusters are struggling to make back their budgets, both Barbie and Oppenheimer over-performed at the box office, leading to the 4th highest grossing weekend for ticket sales in domestic history. Barbie took in $337M worldwide while Oppenheimer posted a massive $174.2M haul for a 3-hour R-rated drama. AMC alone estimates that at least 40,000 AMC Stubs members booked tickets to both movies in the same day.
Post-pandemic, I believe movie-goers were waiting for an excuse to get back in the theater. The sense of community sitting together watching Ryan Gosling beach guys off is inimitable. Hearing Ludwig Göransson’s sweeping score for Oppenheimer on Dolby Atmos speakers will be an experience you’ll never forget. Studios may try to recreate this same dynamic in the future with new movies, but it will never be able to capture the lightning in a bottle that was Barbenheimer. I just hope that the energy for getting out to the theater and exploring new films continues on.
