Barbie is everything. He’s just the destroyer of worlds.
July 21 marks a fateful moment in the history of cinema: the day Barbie and Oppenheimer are both released in theaters across the nation. It’s a showdown of epic proportions, one that has led to an inspiring collection of memes, niche merch, and the coinage of a mashed-up nickname that’s become so ubiquitous it has its own Wikipedia page: Barbenheimer. Sometimes, an internet fad surrounding a movie—or in this case, movies—doesn’t translate to box office success. (See: Snakes on a Plane.) But the allure of Barbenheimer feels different, and AMC has the receipts to prove it: This week, the theater chain disclosed that 40,000 moviegoers have already booked a Barbie–Oppenheimer double feature, to say nothing of the countless people who will spread out their viewings over opening weekend.
If you’re confused about all the internet fervor, aren’t sure which film to prioritize, or are simply amping yourself up before a double feature, let this be your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about Barbenheimer.
The Movies
Shared release date notwithstanding, one of the main reasons the Barbenheimer craze has taken off is because the films couldn’t be more diametrically opposed. On the one hand, you have Barbie: a satirical comedy from Warner Bros. that’s filled with bright pastels and an artificiality that perfectly aligns with the iconic Mattel toy brand. There are several iterations of Barbie in the movie, though the main protagonist is played by Margot Robbie; her Ken, meanwhile, is Ryan Gosling. In the best possible way, Barbie looks like the cinematic equivalent of a sugar high, and that over-the-top energy has extended to over 100(!) marketing tie-ins. You can find [deep breath] Barbie-themed frozen yogurt, Xboxes, clothing lines, pool floaties, electric toothbrushes, and even an Airbnb rental that’s a (somewhat unsettling!) real-life re-creation of a Barbie Dream House.
Then there’s Oppenheimer: a roughly three-hour biopic from Universal Pictures about the devastating ramifications of the Manhattan Project, which created the world’s first nuclear weapons, led by the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). Unsurprisingly, the marketing push for Oppenheimer has been comparatively restrained—you’re not going to find a fast food chain releasing a limited-edition menu of sandwiches lathered in Da’ Bomb hot sauce. (Considering how many celebrities have an existential crisis after sampling Da’ Bomb on Hot Ones, it’s probably for the best.) For Universal, Oppenheimer is meant to appeal to cinephiles ready to be swept away by the power of the moving image (and, uh, the power of nuclear explosions). In that sense, the movie sells itself.
As for what Barbie and Oppenheimer have in common, well, have you seen their casts? Between them, it seems like every star in Hollywood wanted in on the action. On the Barbie side of things, Robbie and Gosling are joined by Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Dua Lipa, Michael Cera, John Cena, Emerald Fennell, Helen Mirren, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, and more. (The Mackey casting is especially clever since she’s sometimes mistaken for Robbie.) Oppenheimer is no slouch, either: Murphy gets top billing as the title character, but the rest of the cast is rounded out by Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Benny Safdie, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Casey Affleck, Alden Ehrenreich, Alex Wolff, Jack Quaid, Dane DeHaan, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, and, yes, even more. At this rate, I half-expected Daniel Day-Lewis to be coaxed out of retirement for one of these films—can you imagine if he was Oil Baron Ken in Barbie? In any case, these are two of the most stacked casts you will ever find in a blockbuster, and yet another reason to hop on the Barbenheimer bandwagon.
The Directors
The casts for Barbie and Oppenheimer are undeniably impressive, and a large part of that comes down to the prestige of the movies’ respective filmmakers. After making a name for herself on-screen as the defining actress of the indie “mumblecore” movement, Greta Gerwig has transformed into one of Hollywood’s most sought-after filmmakers. While her directorial debut came back in 2008 with Nights and Weekends—an indie drama codirected with Joe Swanberg—Gerwig rose to prominence with 2017’s Lady Bird, the coming-of-age dramedy loosely inspired by her upbringing in Sacramento. Along with overwhelming critical acclaim, Lady Bird went on to net five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. (I’m still mad that Lady Bird didn’t win a single Oscar; Laurie Metcalf was ROBBED for Best Supporting Actress. They didn’t understand it, etc.)
Two years later, Gerwig helmed an equally celebrated adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which reaffirmed that there are few filmmakers working today who are better at capturing the universal joys and anxieties of girlhood. In that respect, Barbie makes perfect sense as Gerwig’s latest project: The eponymous doll is arguably the single most well-known cultural touchstone for generations of girls throughout the globe. (And boys, if they so choose! Barbie-related toys can be played with by kids of any gender identity, even if the film is largely trying to appeal to a female demographic.) Going forward, Gerwig will reportedly direct two Chronicles of Narnia movies for Netflix, firmly establishing herself as a studio filmmaker who has, thus far, managed to create critically and commercially successful projects that haven’t come at the expense of her charming sensibilities.
Gerwig’s seamless pivot from indies to blockbusters is certainly something Christopher Nolan can relate to. Ever since his indie psychological thriller Memento became a critical darling for its evocative nonlinear storytelling, Nolan has leveled up with a string of beloved blockbusters that includes the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar. As a filmmaker, Nolan has repeatedly demonstrated that he’s fascinated by the concept of time—so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if he were aroused by the contours of a grandfather clock. On a more serious note, Nolan’s track record—particularly how consistently his blockbusters turn a profit—means he’s one of the rare modern directors who can make original projects on the largest possible scale. More often than not, people will head to theaters to see one of Nolan’s movies just because his name is attached to it. In an era of never-ending IP extensions, that’s astonishing in and of itself.
With all that in mind, Oppenheimer still feels like a big swing for Nolan: an R-rated biopic about the grimmest subject matter imaginable—the dawn of the nuclear age—with the longest run time of the director’s career. The production has made waves for the sheer enormity of the endeavor. For one, Nolan forwent special effects while re-creating the Trinity nuclear test and instead set off real explosives. (Contrary to some sensationalist headlines, he did not detonate an actual nuclear bomb; even Nolan can’t get away with war crimes in the name of cinema.) What’s more, if you see Oppenheimer in IMAX, the film stock weighs 600 pounds and runs 11 miles long, and the movie is the first to use IMAX black-and-white analog photography. It all adds up to the sense that Nolan is operating at the peak of his powers—if you dig his other films, this is the can’t-miss theatrical event of the summer.
Christopher Nolan’s Complicated Relationship With Warner Bros.
While Barbie and Oppenheimer make sense as counterprogramming—the movies theoretically cater to very different audiences—it also comes with some bad blood brewing behind the scenes. Nolan enjoyed a long, mutually beneficial relationship with Warner Bros. after 2002’s Insomnia, but it came to an acrimonious end following the release of Tenet. Essentially, Nolan insisted on releasing Tenet in theaters at the height of the pandemic, a decision that unsurprisingly led the film to perform below the filmmaker’s usual box office expectations. However, the real breaking point for their partnership came when Warner Bros. announced that its 2021 theatrical slate would be simultaneously released on HBO Max. It was a contentious decision that the studio has since walked back, but not before pissing off Nolan so badly that he chose to set up his next project, Oppenheimer, with Universal.
Here’s where things get weird. Warner Bros. is trying to lure Nolan back to make movies with them: The studio even gave him a seven-figure royalty check tied to Tenet as something of an olive branch. That’s all well and good, but the studio also deliberately chose to release Barbie alongside Oppenheimer, which, if you ask me, amounts to a middle finger. (Nolan was reportedly upset when Barbie was scheduled the same weekend as Oppenheimer because mid-July is known in the industry as “Nolan’s weekend.” Members of the theatrical community tried to convince Warner Bros. to shift Barbie’s release date, but the studio refused to budge.) To make matters worse, Warner Bros. has even scheduled press screenings in regional U.S. markets that coincide with the ones for Oppenheimer, effectively forcing some entertainment journalists to choose which film to cover.
I’m not a studio executive, but this doesn’t seem like the best way to endear yourself to a filmmaker (or journalists). Whatever happens with Nolan and Warner Bros. in the future, the Great Barbenheimer Showdown of 2023 will always be remembered as an inflection point in their director-studio relationship.
The Memes
Barbenheimer wouldn’t be such a cultural phenomenon without all the memes these films have generated. Here are some of our favorites:
The Stakes
There’s a lot riding on the potential success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, some of which matters more to Hollywood’s decision-makers than consumers. While there have been some bright spots at the box office this year (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), ticket sales are still down roughly 20 percent from the same period in 2019, exacerbating concerns about the future of the theatrical industry. (Ongoing strikes from the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild could also affect movie lineups in 2024, to say nothing of all the upcoming releases that won’t have actors promoting their work if the studios can’t agree to a deal.) Basically, theater chains could really use a win this summer—and that’s where all the Barbenheimer hype comes in.
While Barbie is tracking for a bigger opening weekend than Oppenheimer, the combined gross between both films could be in the neighborhood of $150 million. Box office projections aren’t an exact science, but with how the numbers are looking, it’s almost a guarantee that the bombshell will trump the bomb-maker. In other words, from a profitability standpoint, Barbie should have Oppenheimer beat. Still, that doesn’t mean Barbie and Oppenheimer can’t both enjoy a healthy share of the pie. Ideally, strong word-of-mouth would allow Barbie and Oppenheimer to chip away at the box office for the remainder of the summer, especially when there aren’t many major titles coming out in the next month. (Apologies to fans of Meg 2: The Trench, for I am one of you; I just don’t think many of us exist.) Conversely, if either of the movies massively underperforms, it would mean the Barbenheimer phenomenon was more about the memes than a genuine push to support these projects. But for moviegoers who wish there was more variety coming to theaters, even if you’re not a fan of Nolan’s work, you should really be rooting for Oppenheimer.
I have no doubts that Gerwig added a lot of personal touches to Barbie, but at the end of the day, it’s still a blockbuster designed to boost Mattel’s toy sales. In fact, Hollywood has become so risk-averse and IP-obsessed that Mattel is planning at least 45(!) possible film adaptations of their properties, including Hot Wheels, Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, and an “A24-style” Barney the Dinosaur movie. (“I love you, you love me / Let’s get together and watch Hereditary.”) While IP adaptations aren’t inherently bad, it’s hard to imagine the Hollywood ecosystem is in a healthy place if a star-studded drama about the human condition isn’t green-lit unless it’s set in the UNO Cinematic Universe. That doesn’t mean we should hope that Barbie falters at the box office—especially when few big-budget movies actually cater to women—but it’s worth remembering that filmmakers as talented as Gerwig aren’t always going to be the ones helming shameless IP extensions.
Which brings us back to Oppenheimer. With the exception of the Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan has continued pursuing original blockbusters and adapting lesser-known works like The Prestige: a rare privilege he’s afforded because of his stellar track record. Even if Oppenheimer were to bomb (pun truly unintended), Nolan would have no shortage of suitors ready to finance his next movie. But when there are so few original ideas coming out of the studio pipeline, every failure feels like another breaking point for the rest of the industry: Why take a risk on a filmmaker’s passion project, a short-sighted studio executive might wonder, when I could sign off on Mattel’s gritty Bob the Builder adaptation? Love him or hate him, Nolan champions the theatrical experience, and if his films struggle to make a dent at the box office, it doesn’t bode well for everyone else.
The Decision
With all that in mind, it’s time to address the fateful question(s): Should you prioritize Barbie or Oppenheimer, and if you plan on seeing both, which movie should come first?
Before we try to answer that, it’s worth remembering that Barbie and Oppenheimer may be in competition with each other, but that doesn’t mean the stars behind these projects are hoping the other film fails. “I’ll be going to see Barbie 100 percent—I can’t wait to see it,” Murphy told IGN. “I think it’s just great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out on the same day.” Meanwhile, the Barbie movie’s Twitter account shared photos of Robbie and Gerwig holding ticket stubs for Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning Part One, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and, yes, Oppenheimer.
As for the Barbenheimer viewing order, well, it honestly depends on how you’re planning to watch the films. I know that sounds like a cop-out, but an actual double feature is a much different experience than spreading out your viewings over the weekend. If you want to do a double feature, the consensus appears to be that Oppenheimer should come first: The film covers much heavier subject matter, and Barbie would be a good way to decompress after a three-hour downer. “Obviously, you should see Oppenheimer first and then cleanse your palate with Barbie,” Issa Rae told The Hollywood Reporter at the Barbie world premiere.
On the other hand, if you wanted to see one movie as a matinee before getting tickets for an evening screening on another day, it might make sense to reverse the order. Barbie feels like the perfect film to complement, say, a boozy brunch; Oppenheimer will wear you down before bed. There’s really no wrong answer—unless, for some reason, you only have the bandwidth to see one of these movies on opening weekend. If that’s the case, it’s probably better to prioritize Barbie, which lends itself to spoilers far more than a biopic centered on an infamous historical event. (We would still encourage you to check out Oppenheimer at a later date, especially while it’s still screening at IMAX theaters.)
Whatever you end up doing this weekend as a moviegoer, it’s worth treasuring this communal (and meme-able) theatrical experience—one that the industry has sorely needed in the midst of a work stoppage and declining ticket sales. There’s no reason to pit Barbie and Oppenheimer against each other; instead, we should all learn to stop worrying and love the Barbenheimer.
Miles Surrey
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