Waves of pink-clad moviegoers passed under carboard palm trees on the frenzied first day of
After a feverish drumbeat propelled forward by a mushroom cloud of memes, the most anticipated day on the year鈥檚 movie calendar finally arrived as 鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� 鈥� two movie opposites brought together by cross-marketing fate 鈥� landed in theaters.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the contrast,鈥� said Lucy Ruiz, 17, as she and a friend made their way into the first showing of 鈥淏arbie鈥� on Thursday at the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers, New York. 鈥淚f you want to do both in the same day, it鈥檚 like two sides of the same coin.鈥�
For Ruiz, the second half of her 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� would have to wait. 鈥淢aybe next week,鈥� she said of seeing 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥�
But many are flocking to see both on opening weekend. The National Association of Theater Owners says some 200,000 moviegoers in North America have booked same-day tickets to each movie. The movie of the summer has turned out to be not or but a double feature.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen anything like this,鈥� says Michael O鈥橪eary, president of the theater association, who compared the phenomenon to a sold-out Taylor Swift concert tour. 鈥淏ut while that鈥檚 an amazing special event that captures the cultural attention, it鈥檚 not accessible to everybody the way these two movies are. This is a phenomenon open to everyone, regardless of where they live.鈥�
As of Friday, it was already clear 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� had morphed into the movie event of the year. The collision of and Christopher Nolan鈥檚 three-hour the so-called father of the atomic bomb, wasn鈥檛 cannibalizing ticket sales for either but fueling excitement for the most jarring and color-clashing of movie weekends.
Studios forecasts had hovered around an $80 million opening weekend for 鈥淏arbie鈥� and about $40 million for 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥� But it鈥檚 likely that both will greatly exceed those totals, and maybe even 鈥� especially in the case of 鈥淏arbie鈥� 鈥� double them.
Warner Bros. said Friday that 鈥淏arbie鈥� took in $22.5 million in Thursday previews, the best such tally of the year and a clear sign that the film will easily sail past $100 million for the weekend. Universal Pictures鈥� 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� notched $10.5 million in preshow ticket sales, a likewise strong start.
鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� is poised to be not just a viral trend but a box-office behemoth. For a movie industry that still hasn鈥檛 entirely recovered its pre-pandemic footing, it鈥檚 a much-needed jolt of moviegoing joy in a summer season where have Overall sales on the year are running about 20% below the box-office pace of 2019.
As much as the 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� fanfare has been driven by internet fascination, it鈥檚 in many ways an old-school movie weekend. Both movies are roundly acclaimed, original works by two of the best filmmakers working today. 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� has been hailed as a masterpiece; in my review, I called it The Associated Press鈥� Jocelyn Noveck called 鈥淏arbie鈥� 鈥渂rash, clever, idea-packed (if ultimately TOO packed) and
For some moviegoers, 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� is their first blush with the once common practice of catching a double feature. Jack Robinson, 17, had tickets to see both movies with friends Saturday. He planned to don a suit for 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� before changing into pink for 鈥淏arbie.鈥�
鈥淚 used to go to the movies a lot with my family and friends before corona happened. I鈥檓 very excited,鈥� said Robinson. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to not leave the movie theater. Usually, it鈥檚 like bathroom and go home.鈥�
In recent years, theater owners have often bemoaned not having enough films in the marketplace as streaming made inroads and studios increasingly concentrated their release schedules on fewer but bigger films. But 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� points to the possible reward when a varied group of films collective rise the box-office tide.
鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� may have momentarily eclipsed last week鈥檚 top film, which, despite Tom Cruise鈥檚 lobbying, is losing IMAX screens to 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� this weekend. But having three big movies in close proximity to one other, O鈥橪eary said, 鈥渋s a good problem to have.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly preferable to the alternative,鈥� said O鈥橪eary.
Parrot Analytics found that global demand for the casts of each film 鈥� all of whom have been publicly enthusiastic about seeing their rival movie 鈥� grew at virtually the same rate between late April and mid-July. The audience demographics are almost opposite one another. 鈥淏arbie鈥� is appealing to a largely female and younger audience, while 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� is most popular with males and those over the age of 30, Parrot found.
Yet in a much-divided America, 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� has been the great pop-culture unifier of 2023. There is harmony in contrast.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing 鈥楤arbie鈥� first and then 鈥極ppenheimer鈥� because I know 鈥極ppenheimer鈥� is going to be something I have to digest,鈥� says Jill Kupnick of Brooklyn.
Movie theaters are catering to the 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� phenomenon with double feature tickets and plenty of 鈥淏arbie鈥�-themed promotions of candy and cocktails. But most are programming their own 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� days. Freelance writer Kelsey Weekman called it 鈥渢he closest we鈥檝e come to
鈥淚 have a friend who has outfits picked out and knows how she鈥檚 styling her hair,鈥� Krupnick says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a level of play involved that you rarely see in more mainstream cinema. It鈥檚 more common with Marvel movies or in the fantasy genre than something like this.鈥�
鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� have melded together so much that it鈥檚 become possible 鈥� despite their vast differences 鈥� to confuse one for the other. At the Yonkers Alamo Drafthouse, a sharply dressed man wearing a pink shirt beneath a blazer inquired about showtimes for 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥�
A clerk courteously answered and then, noticing the man鈥檚 attire, asked, 鈥淒id you want times for 鈥楤arbie,鈥� too?鈥�
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