The online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” began with a date: July 21.
It’s not uncommon for studios to pit films from different genres against one another in one big weekend, but the big differences between an intense, serious film about the man who oversaw the creation of the atomic bomb and a light-hearted, candy-colored anthropomorphization of a childhood doll became apparent they quickly become the subject of viral spread.
There’s even some disagreement as to whether it’s “Barbieheimer,” “Barbenheimer,” or “Boppenheimer,” or some other tormented combination, a phenomenon the AP Stylebook doesn’t yet provide guidance on, but for the purposes of this article it will be “Barbenheimer.” ” be.
It didn’t hurt that both Nolan and Gerwig have very passionate and very passionate online fans who would love to get involved. It doesn’t matter that many of these fans overlap: the memes, allegiances, and t-shirts were just too much fun.
Both films often trend on social media when the other releases a new asset: a trailer, a picture, an interview. On one level, it’s a marketing department’s dream. The notoriety couldn’t be higher, the conversation couldn’t be louder and none of the films have received official reviews yet.
“‘Barbenheimer’ is a marketing gift that came out of social media, and I think both films benefit from it,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at analytics firm Comscore. “Certainly you get to know both films in a deeper and more engaging way than I would think if they had been released on separate weekends.”
AMC Theaters reported that 20,000 of its AMC Stubs members bought tickets to a double feature. If you count, that’s 294 minutes of watching movies. Even Margot Robbie, Barbie herself, and Tom Cruise, star of another summer blockbuster, have started planning the ideal “Barbenheimer” day.
“It’s a perfect double act,” Robbie said at the London premiere of his film on Wednesday. “I think you really start the day with ‘Barbie,’ then go straight to ‘Oppenheimer,’ and then ‘Barbie’ chasers.”
Cruise, whose “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” premiered just over a week before the “Barbenheimer” showdown, said at the premiere that he plans to see both on opening day, likely starting with “Oppenheimer.” , it also seems to be the preferred viewing order on the web.
Barbie actor Issa Rae thinks there’s a reason.
“I think there’s a very specific order in which you see them. When you see ‘Oppenheimer’ at the end, you might be a bit psychopathic,” he diagnosed at the London premiere.
The showdown has turned everyone into marketers, quickly analyzing every move by Warner Bros. and Universal as if it were possible to compare two vastly different campaigns.
There are endless possibilities for very pink and glittery photo ops, quirky brand partnerships for everything from lingerie to swimming pools, large scale fan events with autograph sessions and pop stars like Billie Eilish posting about the soundtrack. In other words, the “Barbie” campaign could go nuclear.
“Oppenheimer” has the bombshell, the seductive mystery, and the cinematic hook, but it’s not the kind of film that lends itself to a frozen yogurt collab, for example.
However, is the competition real or just a meme? Some in Hollywood were wondering if Warner Bros. was releasing “Barbie” over the weekend to commemorate Nolan, who shot many films for the studio in this corridor, including “Inception” and “Dunkirk.” He left Warner Bros. in the midst of the controversial decision to stream the year-old films and instead made “Oppenheimer” with Universal. But a box office war doesn’t exactly make sense for a studio that’s recently talked about trying to lure Nolan back.
There’s an unspoken code of conduct: never badmouth another studio’s film, at least not publicly. That’s partly appropriate, especially when it comes to “box office showdowns,” which everyone will say are the work of the press and the courtside crowd. But it also has a truth: the conventional wisdom is that it’s good to see in a movie, other movies too: you look at their posters and trailers, and in a way everyone benefits.
And social media has also allowed movie stars to get into the game. After it was reported that Cruise was upset that the latest “Mission: Impossible” would lose its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer” after just a week, Cruise released photos of him and director Christopher McQuarrie posing in front of “Indiana” billboards stood. Jones and the Clock Face”. of Destiny”, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, each with tickets.
“There are a lot of great films in cinemas this summer. “These are just some of the ones we can’t wait to see on the big screen,” reads Cruise’s Instagram caption.
The official accounts of Indiana Jones, Barbie, and Oppenheimer responded with statements of support. A few days later, Gerwig and Robbie even followed up with a similar series of photos, which the official “Oppenheimer” Instagram account reposted in their Stories. Cillian Murphy was cast to play Oppenheimer and told the AP at the London premiere of his film that he would “of course” watch “Barbie.” Sports cross-promotion between four studios (Universal, Warner Bros., Disney and Paramount) is something the film industry has never seen before.
“Tom Cruise is not only the biggest box office star in the world, he is also an incredible ambassador for cinema, the cinematic experience and the advancement of other films,” said Dergarabedian. “And this college atmosphere in the context of what is a very hard-fought box-office derby is a beautiful thing.”
Still, everyone loves a #1 debut, and both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” reportedly have a production price tag of $100 million (not counting the millions spent on marketing). “Barbie” leads the way in terms of box office earnings, with estimates suggesting the film could gross over $90 million in North American theaters. “Oppenheimer” is now in the $40 million range. Then there’s the Mission: Impossible 7 Weekend 2 wildcard, which could take second place.
Even with a second or third seed, “Oppenheimer” could have a long, stable, and profitable awards-season career ahead of him. The adult audience for R-rated films isn’t usually the ones filling theaters on the first weekend.
In 2008, in the midst of the recession, Warner Bros. and Universal went head-to-head over the same July weekend with another Nolan film that explored lighthearted candy: The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia “. – both were extremely profitable (although Nolan won in the opening weekend).