In one movie, pink is all over the place, including life-size dollhouses and exploding parties. The other is the origin story of the worst weapon in human history.
When two of the year’s most anticipated movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer, hit theaters on July 21st, thousands of fans will head to theaters to see both films on the same day. Deaf – reveling in the irony of meeting two stars – is a movie studded with such disproportionate themes.
“It’s about juxtaposing the brightest and darkest sides of the human imagination,” said Eden Schumer, a paralegal in Manhattan. Schumer will head to the theater wearing a T-shirt with both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” designs. “You are creating the world and you are destroying it at the same time.”
Dubbed “Babenheimer” on the internet, the double feature is a cultural event and a movie-goer’s dream, even as the film industry struggles to compete with streaming services and restore pre-pandemic engagement. Yes, it is expected to be a magnet that draws people back to the cinema.
More than 20,000 people have already bought tickets to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” on the same day, according to Elizabeth Frank, executive vice president of worldwide programming and chief content officer at AMC Theaters. It says. From July 7th to July 10th, he saw a 33% increase in the number of guests buying tickets for her double feature at AMC.
Even certain celebrities with their own high-profile films have joined the movement.
Kevin Savelico, a political consultant in Carlsbad, Calif., said he used to watch movies multiple times a month, but stopped going during the pandemic. He hasn’t been to the theater in over a year.
“This is the event that brings me back,” Savelico said. “I don’t know why, but the duality of these films taking place on the same day fascinates me and makes me want to see them both on the big screen.”
Like Savelico, Stanford University graduate student Jackson Kennedy will be completing a theatrical hiatus in preparation for a double-feature screening.
“I haven’t been to the theater all year, but I’m going to spend all day in the theater from now on,” he said.
What order should I watch the movies in? The consensus seems to be “Oppenheimer” first. Ingest something thick and then end the night with a party.
“A friend and I in Chicago spend the day at the Alamo Drafthouse, watching movies as the Lord Himself intended: 10am Oppenheimer with black coffee, 4pm Barbie. I drink a big Diet Coke in 20 minutes,” marketing operations manager Andrea Ledesma wrote in an email.
Brooklyn resident Rita Wenxing Wang, who also started with Oppenheimer, decided to buy tickets for the double feature after seeing dozens of memes and jokes online juxtaposing the two films.
“It’s more fun to end the night with a light, fun movie than a serious movie where someone builds an atomic bomb,” Wang said.
Many other double-featured moviegoers have matched their costumes accordingly. Thomas Cuda, from Jacksonville, Fla., said he’ll be looking cool and probably in a suit for the morning’s Oppenheimer. He’s got something fancy planned for the afternoon’s “Barbie” show. Here in his year he kept in his closet a pair of pink jeans, a gift from his wife.
“I never had the courage to try it before, but for ‘Barbie’ I’m going to beat them,” he said.
Kuda couldn’t believe it when she learned that both films would be released on July 21, a week and a half after her birthday. He decided to postpone his birthday celebration until next week.
“We’re not going to spend money. We’ll save everything. It’s a big hit on launch day,” he said. “To me, today is probably the third most important day of the year, after Memorial Day and Halloween.”
