Barbenheimer was a generational phenomenon in July.
When Barbie and Oppenheimer released, they defined the summer.
Film fans got to indulge in a whole day at the cinema for the first time in years.
Movies aren’t what they used to be.
People would flock to the cinema every weekend, and pick up a 4 pound ticket to watch great films on the big screen.
Since the age of streaming, cinema attendance has been on the decline.
This was until Barbenheimer.
Both films had July 21st 2023 set as their official release dates, becoming an anticipated double-release.
The double-release was set to be such a cultural event that it caused concerns for other films.
Reports that Paramount were pushing for a change in dates so that Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible, releasing a week before, would not lose cinema-time to Barbenheimer.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie is a comedy-fantasy spin on the Barbie universe.
Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the film follows Barbie and Ken on a great adventure.
Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers, Barbie had been in the works for years before Gerwig took over.
Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Oppenheimer had been in production for years.
Finally giving Cillian Murphy the chance to take the title role, Oppenheimer had been a long-awaited project from film enthusiasts.
Weirdly enough, the films were both exploring complex themes about life and social constructs.
Barbie took the audience on a journey of self discovery, following Barbie’s quest to get her spark back while tackling wider themes of feminism.
Oppenheimer followed the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer grappling with the consequences and feelings of creating the world’s first atomic weapon.
Nolan framed the movie not just as a documentary but as an exploration of the character.
Barbenheimer was a cultural phenomenon before it even hit the big screens.
Plans were being made across social media to watch the films back to back.
Shirts were made to celebrate the release of two films, memes were trending for weeks after the release.
These films brought cinema back and defined the summer.
It was a great week for cinemas.
Greta Gerwig made history as the first female director to take home £276m in the opening weekend. Barbie ended up taking home $1.442b at the box office while $9.53.8b.
Oppenheimer’s opening weekend made $174m, bringing in hundreds of thousands of film fans to cinemas for Barbenheimer.
