Oppenheimer Beats Barbie In VOD Views As The Barbenheimer Battle Continues

Oppenheimer inches ahead of Barbie in VOD viewership in the continued Barbenheimer battle. Oppenheimer and Barbie were both met with critical praise upon their shared July release this summer. Box-office wise, Barbie ultimately won the battle, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2023, grossing $1.4 billion worldwide.

As per Deadline, Oppenheimer has now bested Barbie for one viewership record. Comparing the two films’ VOD premiere weekends, Oppenheimer received 388,000 views in comparison to Barbie’s 363,000 views. This viewership data was obtained through metrics from SambaTV (rather than Universal or Warner Bros. Discovery directly).

Why Oppenheimer Is A Huge Success (Even Though It Lost To Barbie At The Box Office)

The Barbie vs. Oppenheimer–collectively known as “Barbenheimer”–box office battle was hyped for months before the films were released. In these discussions, Barbenheimer was often thought to be a direct box office battle, in that the winner would be the film that came out on top at the global box office. This honor clearly went to Barbie, whose $1.4 billion gross far exceeds Oppenheimer’s $950 million gross.

However, to give Barbie the win so simply undercuts how huge a success Oppenheimer is. Though the film did not cross the coveted $1 billion threshold, to make $950 million as a biopic is a huge feat. Furthermore, Oppenheimer has garnered universal critical acclaim and is being hailed as Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. Oppenheimer‘s relatively longer release window prior to VOD has also allowed the film to gain more revenue over time, whereas Barbie largely left theaters in September.

Oppenheimer’s VOD win further highlights the film’s massive success, for it reveals the staying power of Nolan’s film. Given the grandiose nature of the production, one would think that Oppenheimer would flourish in the IMAX ticket sales but falter more when it came to VOD. This fate is far from the case, as Oppenheimer continues to gain momentum, even beating Barbie in one aspect after it has left theaters, enchanting new viewers wanting to catch a glimpse of Nolan’s masterwork.