Words by Taha Khambaty
With the Barbenheimer hype machine still rolling on, we ask which film won over the people and left its mark on the culture.
On July 21, a highly-anticipated clash between two 20th-century icons took the cultural zeitgeist by storm. This once-in-lifetime event – aptly named “Barbenheimer” – turned out to be a groundbreaking example of counter-programming in box office history, setting numerous records. With the pink dust now starting to settle, we can begin to ask ourselves: who was the true winner of this cinematic duel?
Taking a page from Nolan’s playbook and starting from the middle, our story starts in 2021 when Warner Bros., in response to the pandemic, initiated “Project Popcorn.” This controversial move involved releasing films simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, garnering mixed reactions from the creative community, including one Christopher Nolan. Having collaborated with Warner Bros. since 2002, Nolan decided to part ways and announced that his next film, Oppenheimer, would be distributed by Universal Studios. Following this, it was announced that the film would be released on July 21st 2023: a date Nolan has historically preferred with The Dark Knight and Dunkirk both being released on the same date in 2008 and 2017 respectively.
Meanwhile, in a world made of plastic, the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) merger brought about another intriguing contender. WBD announced that the long-awaited Barbie movie would also be released on July 21, 2023, replacing the still-to-be-released Coyote Vs. Acme on their release slate.
Barbie’s true inception in fact lies further back in 2009 when Mattel announced a partnership with, poetically enough, Universal Studios. However, negotiations fell through, leading Sony Pictures to take over the project. At various points, actresses like Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway were considered for the lead role, but it wasn’t until 2018 that the rights transferred to Warner Bros., where Margot Robbie became attached to the project. Thanks to the persuasive efforts of Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, Robbie secured the role in 2019 and approached the talented Greta Gerwig to write the screenplay. Gerwig, known for her work on films like Lady Bird and Little Women, accepted the offer but requested that her partner, Noah Baumbach, be involved in the writing process.
Having settled into their release dates, casting news around both films soon began to circulate, leading the internet to introduce a fascinating phenomenon in 2022—Barbenheimer. As the release date drew nearer, speculations emerged that one of the films would reschedule to avoid a direct clash. However, both films remained steadfast, and the internet embraced the idea of two films with contrasting themes and styles, releasing on the same day, and turned it into a viral sensation. Rather than pitting Barbie against Oppenheimer, audiences used Barbenheimer to celebrate both films and shared their excitement online. Memes, discussions about movie-watching outfits, and plans for double features fueled the fervour for Barbenheimer, creating organic buzz that the studios could not have orchestrated better themselves.
It would be criminal to ignore the efforts of Barbie’s marketing team who were crucial to the success of both films. With an estimated budget of $150 million, surpassing the cost of the film itself, they left no stone unturned to generate excitement amongst mainstream audiences. Creative brand tie-ins, life-size Barbie houses, and interactive photo opportunities in plastic boxes, alongside a breadcrumb strategy by the marketing team ensured the conversion around the film kept abuzz.
Now, just over a week into their releases, it is abundantly clear that the hype around both films more than delivered. Upon their debuts, both Barbie and Oppenheimer received extraordinary critical and audience acclaim. Barbie had the highest-grossing opening weekend of 2023 and marked the highest-ever debut for a female director. Despite being slightly lower in its gross, Oppenheimer also received a similar if not better critical reception. The difference in box office earnings can be attributed to Oppenheimer’s R rating and longer runtime, whilst Barbie‘s comedic nature and broader appeal made it more financially successful. Yet together both films helped create the 4th highest opening weekend in domestic box office history.
Yet, amidst the resounding success of Barbenheimer, one notable casualty emerged: Tom Cruise. Having achieved outstanding success last year with Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise had sought to secure as many IMAX screens as possible for his latest film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One before Oppenheimer’s release. Cruise failed and so strategically pushed his film a few days forward to capitalise on the gap in the schedule before the highly anticipated clash. Despite receiving a positive critical reception, Mission: Impossible failed to meet expectations at the box office and, with Barbie and Oppenheimer continuing to dominate screens, the film’s chances of relying on its past success of legging it out at the box office appear bleak.
Thus in the wake of Barbenheimer’s explosive success, we are left with a box office that finally has some hope to hold on to, leaving other, less original films in the dust. Sure, Barbie may have outshone Oppenheimer at the box office, but it only together that these two films were able to change the 21st century cinema zeitgeist.
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