When the release dates of two of the most anticipated summer movies were announced, it created a storm in the entertainment industry. Both are opposites in feel and story. One is a fantasy comedy, while the other is a biopic of a brilliant man, produced by rival studios and directed by critically acclaimed filmmakers. While Universal Pictures backed Oppenheimer, Nolan’s former creative home – Warner Bros.- backed Barbie.
This release date clash led to the creation of ‘Barbenheimer’ – a portmanteau of the two films’ titles. When writing this article, Barbenheimer generated 60.6K posts on Instagram alone. The reception has mostly been positive, as the audience is excited to watch both movies. Barbenheimer has led to the creation of many memes as well.
We at Radarr, looked into what social media data was telling us about this clash of the movie Titans, and this is what we saw. For those who are yet to experience this movie extravaganza, fair warning, there are spoilers ahead 🙂
(The numbers above are based on data collected from July 1st – July 28th, globally.)
Due to Barbie’s strong promotions, which started months before the movie’s release, like the selfie generator, encouraged a strong movie fandom that resulted in people dressing up for the movie. This contributed significantly to Barbie-related conversations online, garnering significant engagement as well.
Oppenheimer didn’t create a similar phenomenon or behavior change and mainly encouraged discussions about its plot and filmmaking quality.
Barbenheimer has become an event for cinema lovers, with many planning for a double feature. The tickets were selling like hot cakes, for both movies. In India, Oppenheimer is leading the race, primarily due to the strong fanbase of Nolan in the country. Still, on a global level, Barbie is topping the box office, with Oppenheimer gaining the second position. The films grossed $162 million(Barbie) and $82.4 million (Oppenheimer) on their debut weekend.
As the release date got closer, the creative minds on social media started to make posters for #Barbenheimer.
Since Barbenheimer created a lot of social media buzz, both movies had a mix of sentiments, and the themes discussed around the two movies were also different.
Thematic comparison of the two movies
A MIRROR TO THE SOCIETY: After the movie was released, there was a lot of online chatter around the themes of feminism and patriarchy, as depicted in the movie. While a section of the audience appreciated how these themes are highlighted and about appreciating “girl power,” another section mentioned that the narrative is still problematic as it still doesn’t depict a harmonious coexistence between the two genders.
DRESSING UP FOR THE MOVIE/MARKETING: A significant buzz around the movie was generated by the marketing activities around it. Notable among them being:
- The interactive exhibit called “World of Barbie” at Santa Monica, US where visitors can stay at a life-size Barbie house.
- Mattel, designing all of their products – Uno cards, Cars, etc.- changed to the Barbie theme.
- Search results for Barbie automatically change to pink.
Similarly, a lot of social media buzz was driven by audience members coming to the theaters all dressed in pink.
NOSTALGIA: The movie evoked a strong sense of nostalgia among audiences for whom the dolls were a happy memory growing up.
Among other themes, Ryan Gosling’s performance as Ken was unanimously appreciated online and America Ferrera’s monologue and the movie’s soundtrack were the other highlights discussed by netizens.
EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES: Netizens were mostly effusive in their praise for the whole case, but most of the appreciation was garnered by the lead man – Cillian Murphy.
GREAT FILMMAKING: Like the actors, the technical aspects of the movie were also praised by netizens, like the movie’s editing, cinematography, etc. There were a lot of comments on how they filmed the Trinity Test and how it was something completely unexpected and showed the brilliance of the director Christopher Nolan.
WHITEWASHING: Some viewers were disappointed that the movie did not fully explore the horrors of the war and that Oppenheimer’s indirect impact on the war was not highlighted.
Among the other prominent themes, there were a lot of backlashes around the sex scene in the movie; there were science students fondly reminiscing about their Physics lessons from school after watching the movie, and the movie’s run time prompted some online humor as well.
Irrespective of which movie won the box office and the social media “war,” the buzz around both the movies signals a resurgence in the theatrical release of movies. As Cillian Murphy says – “If they are good films … cinema wins”. So, go and watch the movies and soak in the hype for yourself!
Authors’ Note
Debasish Sarma – Debasish is a Senior Manager at Radarr. He is a crime thriller enthusiast who loves playing FIFA in his spare time.
Priyanka Srivastava – Priyanka is an Insights Analyst at Radarr. This Barbie loves scrolling through memes and reels during her free time.
