Was the ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Double Feature Worth It?
At the nexus of a Venn diagram that includes the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the advent of AI encroaching on original storytelling in art and entertainment media, and a new post-pandemic chapter ahead is one unlikely filmgoing phenomenon—Barbenheimer. What started as a meme became so much more for dedicated and casual moviegoers. It prompted the existential, pop culture-oriented question of our time: Which movie do I see first on Friday, July 21: Barbie or Oppenheimer? Sure, it’s leaning aggressively into hyperbole, but the stakes could never be higher.
The uniting forces of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are bringing people together, packed into movie theaters for the event of the blockbuster season. This isn’t just a lackadaisical question of whether or not to catch a flick on a steamy summer Saturday afternoon. Audiences put careful thought and consideration into the trajectory of their day at the movies, from which outfits to wear to whether or not Margaritaville was the best restaurant for a post-movie debrief and, naturally, the order of the films they saw that day. Before the double feature, there was camp Oppenbie — seeing Oppenheimer before Barbie — or team Barbenheimer — watching Barbie back-to-back with Oppenheimer.
Over the course of their shared opening weekend, Barbie and Oppenheimer outperformed box office expectations. Gerwig’s nostalgic feminist feature earned $155 million domestically, the biggest opening weekend for a film directed by a woman, while Nolan’s historical epic garnered $80 million at the American box office.