On July 21, 2023, audiences everywhere had the opportunity to experience the whole spectrum of cinema with the Barbenheimer phenomenon. Both Christopher Nolan’s biographical film on the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, and Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy, Barbie, based on Mattel’s iconic doll brand, hit theaters on the same day, prompting the Internet to create the portmanteau “Barbenheimer” of the film’s titles.
Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy, and Barbie, starring Margot Robbie - both in their respective films’ titular roles - sent shockwaves through movie theaters and boosted box office numbers to heights that haven’t been seen since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Although the movies initially appeared to be polar opposites of one another, audiences have drawn many parallels between the pair - before and after the films’ theatrical releases. The casts feature star-studded and award-winning casts, Oscar-nominated directors, as well as heavy themes of existentialism and the good and bad of humanity - in tonally and structurally opposite scenes.
Barbie’s Ken (played by Ryan Gosling) grapples with who he is through an elaborate battle and musical number while Oppenheimer silently processes the true gravity and scale of what he has unleashed upon the world before a roaring crowd that is drowned out in his own ears.
Rather than a rivalry forming between the two films, audiences everywhere adopted both of them as a double feature event, paired together hand-in-hand. Even the cast and crew of both movies shared this sentiment. Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie shared a picture of them posing with their Oppenheimer tickets, along with much of the rest of the cast sharing their beliefs on what order to view both movies. Cillian Murphy also shared that he would be seeing Barbie as well and embraced the idea of audiences seeing two great movies made by equally fantastic filmmakers.
Tom Cruise, star of fellow summer blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, also promoted the Barbenheimer event while his high-action, spy thriller was simultaneously playing in theaters.
In turn, Barbie and Oppenheimer actually boosted each other’s sales. By July 17, AMC Theaters reported their own ticket sales, revealing that over 40,000 of its Stubs members had purchased tickets for both films on opening day. Oppenheimer, based upon the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, had been projected to earn between $45-50 million in its opening weekend; it went on to gross over $82 million. On the other hand, Barbie was anticipated to bring in $90-125 million; it also exceeded expectations after reaping over $162 million.
Ironically, this isn’t even the first time a Christopher Nolan film has launched alongside a very tonally opposite film. Back in 2008, The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! hit theaters together on July 18. However, it wasn’t nearly an “event” as Barbenheimer is. Memes and fan-made merchandise ran rampant prior to and following the double-feature opening.
Though, why the overwhelming eagerness from audiences and critics for this phenomenon?
The answer may lie with recent movies themselves.
Audiences are overwhelmingly eager for original, new stories. Superhero and sequel fatigue is a very real idea, and those are the movies that currently dominate theaters. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer represented something fresh for viewers - something they haven’t seen dozens of times alone since the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine.
It is no secret that movie theaters have struggled to regain their footing since 2020; Barbenheimer brought people back in droves in a way that hasn’t been seen in years. Last year’s Top Gun: Maverick now feels like a stepping stone to the revival of the summer blockbuster hit. Though, this time, it is summer blockbuster hits.
Following the biggest opening weekends in years, it is clear that - rather than a blossoming rivalry - it’s Barbie and it’s Oppenheimer.