Barbenheimer
Barbenheimer was a cultural phenomenon that preceded and surrounded the simultaneous theatrical release of two major studio films—Barbie by Warner Bros. Pictures and Oppenheimer by Universal Pictures—on July 21, 2023. The marked contrast between Barbie, a fantasy comedy directed by Greta Gerwig based on the fashion doll Barbie, and Oppenheimer, a biographical thriller directed by Christopher Nolan based on the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, sparked widespread online engagement. This included the creation of memes, merchandise, and themed content across social media.
The simultaneous release was an instance of counterprogramming. As the release date approached, instead of generating a rivalry, discussion centered on the appositeness of watching the films as a double feature, as well as in which order to watch them. While the initial reaction was driven by humor about the films' contrasting styles, some commentators highlighted shared themes such as existentialism.
Both Barbie and Oppenheimer received critical acclaim and exceeded box-office expectations. Their joint opening weekend was the fourth-largest ever at the American box office, and both rank among the highest-grossing films of 2023. Barbenheimer continued into awards season, where both films were major contenders. Together, they received 21 nominations at the 96th Academy Awards and won eight, seven of which went to Oppenheimer, including Best Picture.
History
Release date dispute
In December 2020, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, WarnerMedia, the then-parent company of Warner Bros. Pictures, announced it would release all of its upcoming 2021 films exclusively on its streaming service, HBO Max, in what was nicknamed "Project Popcorn". This decision was heavily criticized the same month by director Christopher Nolan, whose films had been distributed by Warner Bros. since 2002's Insomnia. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan said, "Some of our industry's biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service." He also said that Warner Bros. " even understand what they're losing", and that the "decision no economic sense". Warner Bros. eventually backed off from the streaming-exclusive releasing plan for their feature films in March 2022.Following the announcement of Warner Bros.' 2021 release strategy, Nolan began discussions with other studios and, in September 2021, revealed that his next project, Oppenheimer, would be distributed by Universal Pictures rather than Warner Bros. As part of the agreement with Universal, Nolan was granted a $100 million production budget, an equally sized marketing budget, full creative control, 20% of first-dollar gross revenue, a three-week blackout period before and after the film's release during which the studio would not launch competing titles, and a 100-day exclusive theatrical window to delay its streaming availability. The following month, Universal announced that Oppenheimer would premiere on July 21, 2023. Warner Bros. had initially scheduled the animated comedy Coyote vs. Acme, a film based on the Looney Tunes franchise, for the same date, but in April 2022, it announced that Barbie would instead be released on that day, putting it in direct competition with Oppenheimer.
Nolan's disagreement with Warner was cited as the principal cause of this decision. Insider speculated that positioning Barbie opposite Oppenheimer may have been a retaliatory move against Nolan for ending his long-standing collaboration with the studio. The choice of a mid-July release held particular relevance, as many of Nolan's films had premiered during that window, with few exceptions: Interstellar and Tenet. Warner Bros.' new leadership, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, later stated that they wished to reconcile with Nolan; prompting box office analysts to question why the studio did not adjust Barbies release date if reconciliation was the goal.
Nolan was reportedly annoyed by Warner Bros.' decision to schedule Barbie on the same date as Oppenheimer. However, when asked by an Insider journalist if the move was a direct response to his departure from Warner Bros., Nolan laughed and declined to comment, instead stating that today's theaters face "a crowded marketplace with a lot of different movies... and those of us who care about movies are thrilled about that." When asked about the films sharing the same release date, Nolan told an IGN reporter that a "crowded marketplace" is "here and that's terrific".
Marketing and emergence as cultural phenomenon
The marketing strategies for Barbie and Oppenheimer were notably different. Barbie employed an extensive campaign, reportedly costing $150 million, featuring immersive partnerships and product tie-ins. In contrast, Oppenheimer opted for a more restrained approach, using trailers and an online countdown leading to the 78th anniversary of the first nuclear test to build anticipation.Both films held their premieres in London in July 2023: Barbie on July 12, and Oppenheimer the following day. On July 14, SAG-AFTRA declared a strike, halting promotional activities involving its members. Margot Robbie expressed support for the strike at Barbie premiere, while Oppenheimer cast left their screening early in solidarity, after the event was moved up by an hour. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher later claimed studios had "duped" the union into extending negotiations by 12 days to allow continued promotion of major summer releases like Barbie and Oppenheimer.
The term "Barbenheimer" was first used in a tweet dated April 15, 2022, by Matt Neglia, editor-in-chief of the entertainment awards site Next Best Picture. The post humorously commented on the seemingly endless casting announcements for both Barbie and Oppenheimer, though Neglia later claimed he did not recall writing it. Interest in the term grew rapidly in 2023 as online users embraced the stark contrast between the two films, sharing memes and fan-made posters across social media platforms like Twitter. Etsy sellers capitalized on the trend by creating themed merchandise, including shirts that initially featured the films' official wordmarks and later adopted a Barbie-style "Barbenheimer" design.
Online users embraced Barbie and Oppenheimer as a double feature, with the debate over the ideal viewing order becoming part of the meme. Margot Robbie suggested watching Barbie, then Oppenheimer, and then Barbie again, while Issa Rae, who plays President Barbie, joked that ending with Oppenheimer might signal sociopathic tendencies. CNN Entertainment writer Scottie Andrew recommended watching Oppenheimer first and Barbie second, comparing it to "saving dessert for after dinner".
Reception
Box office
Ahead of their release, Barbie was projected to earn $90–120 million in its opening weekend, while Oppenheimer was expected to earn $45–50 million. Interest in viewing both films as a double feature grew quickly; two weeks prior to release, AMC Theatres reported that over 20,000 AMC Stubs members had pre-booked same-day tickets for both films, a 33% rise in double-feature bookings from July 7 to 10. By July 17, that figure had risen to 40,000. Vue International noted that nearly 20% of Oppenheimer ticket buyers also purchased tickets for Barbie.Both films exceeded box-office expectations. Barbie became Warner Bros.' highest-grossing domestic release, surpassing Nolan's own The Dark Knight, and it became the highest-grossing domestic release directed by a woman. In the U.S. and Canada, Barbie earned $22.3 million in Thursday previews, while Oppenheimer made $10.5 million. Their first-day totals rose to $70.5 million and $33 million on their first days, respectively, prompting revised weekend projections of $160 million for Barbie and $77 million for Oppenheimer. Ultimately, they debuted to $162 million and $82.4 million.
Combined, the two accounted for 79% of tickets sold that weekend, representing 18.5 million moviegoers, with Oppenheimer also earning $4.98 million from audiences who turned to it after sold-out Barbie showtimes. Despite not topping the domestic box office, Oppenheimer had the second-largest opening for a film that did not debut at number one, marginally beat by Inside Out. Together, Barbie and Oppenheimer drove the July 21–23 weekend to $310.8 million in domestic revenue, the fourth-largest weekend in box office history, behind openings of Avengers: Endgame, Infinity War, and The Force Awakens.