One day, people will be able to talk about Oppenheimer without mentioning Barbie and vice versa, but seeing as the cinematic rivalry of the century shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, that looks to be a ways away yet.
As if it wasn’t impressive enough that Christopher Nolan’s three-hour R-rated epic and Greta Gerwig’s candy-colored comedy are on track to earn a combined total of around $2 billion at the box office, they’ve also emerged as two potential Academy Award front-runners in the majority of the major categories.
The duel between the wildly different but equally successful movies hasn’t been restricted to the multiplex, either, with Letterboxd placing yet another feather in Oppenheimer‘s cap. The showcase for a barnstorming Cillian Murphy turn has rocketed into the site’s One Million Watched Club faster than any other feature film in history bar one other, and there’s no prizes for guessing what beat it to the punch.
You barely hear a sentence about Oppenheimer without Barbie lurking just around the corner ready to swoop in and become part of the conversation, but that just goes to show the massive impact they’ve had on the public consciousness both individually and collectively.
Barbie is going to end up as Warner Bros.’ top-earning release of all-time, with Oppenheimer already one of the 10 biggest R-rated hits in the history of cinema, which serves to highlight that programming two high-profile titles to release on the exact same day can work wonders provided they generate enough momentum and buzz both individually and collectively, something Barbenheimer pulled off in style.