‘Barbenheimer’ Box Office Success Breeds Hope for Hollywood

Grove's Theater marquee announcing the opening of "Barbie" movie is pictured in Los Angeles on July 20, 2023. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

Both “Barbie” and the historical drama “Oppenheimer” rocked the weekend box office, proving that audiences will still rush to theaters in a post-pandemic world and despite an entertainment industry down in the dumps with dueling union strikes taking place.

For its part, Warner Bros./Mattel’s movie about the iconic doll garnered a $162 million opening weekend, making it the best opening ever domestically for a female filmmaker. That’s while “Oppenheimer” took in an astounding $82.4 million.

Together, the combined weekend domestic total generated $255.5 million, making it the fourth biggest domestic weekend of all time, according to media measurement and analysts company Comscore. The two films’ combined opening weekend worldwide grossed $536.7 million.

Those gargantuan numbers led social media users to dub the film combination “Barbenheimer,” with some analysts pinning the films’ triumphant turn-outs to the smart marketing approaches of both films.

“How monumental and consequential this weekend was for the movie industry,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, told The Epoch Times. He noted how rare it is to have two movies inspire a new word to be added to the movie lexicon.

“It’s really a confluence of factors and the perfect storm that includes a release date powering a conversation that then led to a cultural sensation,” he added. “It’s around the movie theater where these cultural events take place and it’s very powerful because it’s the communal experience that creates it—anything that has human beings getting involved in a large group to watch or participate becomes exponentially more culturally resonant.”

Directed by Oscar nominee Greta Gerwig and penned by Ms. Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, “Barbie” stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling with a plot line described by IMDb (Internet Movie Database) as one where “Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.”

The Cillian Murphy-starrer “Oppenheimer” about American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb has been praised by critics.

Marketing Mavens Left Some Mystery Around the Movies

Still, it’s both films’ marketing campaigns that have received commendation.

The PR maestros behind “Barbie” unleashed a measured and steady trickle of still photos, video clips, and social media memes full of colorful sets and characters that had fans of Mattel’s fashion doll that first launched in 1959 excited to enter Barbie Land. It also left them somewhat clueless about the film’s actual plot line.

Social media users couldn’t get on Facebook or Instagram without seeing their friends posing together in Barbie garb on their way to the theater, which made attending the film feel more like a celebratory event rather than just a movie. Never mind that behind the actual movie, according to some critics, was a feminist-minded agenda full of mini speeches lecturing viewers about the world being patriarchal and full of “toxic masculinity.”

As Christian Toto, host of The Hollywood in Toto Podcast, wrote, “the film drowns in feminism” and the only thing missing from its man-hating script is a few Handmaid’s Tale robes.”

“[It] loathes men to a degree that would make a Women’s Studies major blush. It hates the Barbie toy itself, dubbing it ‘fascist’ and worse throughout the film,” he said.

But like “Barbie,” the Christopher Nolan-directed “Oppenheimer” was also cleverly marketed, with the movie’s official trailer imparting a sense of mystery as to the character behind the name and his role in creating the first atomic bomb.

That also led to taking part in the film’s theatrical experience as engaging in an important happening, especially since as an austere storyteller, Mr. Nolan is known to only make a new film every two or three years.

Such Contrasting Storylines Add to Movie-Going Firestorm

At the same time, Mr. Dergarabedian noted that the juxtaposition between the two films may have added to this last weekend’s unique box office momentum.

“That mash-up captured the imagination—that just made it more intriguing to the audience,” said Mr. Dergarabedian. “They were both event movies in their own right that grew exponentially because of each other.”

Meanwhile, while some like Mr. Toto noted the feminist agenda behind the film, some Hollywood movie critics praised it, now labeling it a feminist summer blockbuster, according to a Fox News story.

“Once an equal parts fascinating and controversial Mattel toy, both loved and hated—a tiny-waisted, vacuously smiling, slender doll designed like a straight-male fantasy—is now the complicated feminist symbol of empowerment in Gerwig’s hands,” reads a review from The Wrap. “But we aren’t talking about an empty you-go-girl kind of empowerment here. That would be too simple-minded for Gerwig, whose articulate and accessible feminism has always been fiercely multifaceted and complex.”

“Thanks to Gerwig’s imagination, this ‘Barbie’ is far from plastic. It’s fantastic,” it concluded.

That’s while Indiewire applauded the movie’s “outside the box” and “funny, feminist fantasia” while calling attention to Mr. Gosling’s performance of ”newfound male rage“ and ”patriarchal power” as particularly good.

Box Office Burst Could Have Domino Effect

For his part, Mr. Dergarabedian said that, going forward with both the writers and actors on strike with actors unable to promote and publicize their films, upcoming films this summer are likely to face headwinds. On the other hand, last weekend’s box office blitz should spur more movie-going, he said.

“It would be remiss not to mention that the strikes looming are causing concern,” said Mr. Dergarabedian. “The good news is to think about how many people were in movie theaters this weekend. That’s a lot of movie goers becoming film fans and even more interested in upcoming movies. Having that great experience is going to create more movie-going.”