Emily Blunt reflects on the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer’s shared release date, urging Hollywood to make something similar happen again. With a mutual release date of July 21, Barbie and Oppenheimer broke both the internet and the box office in a phenomenon coined “Barbenheimer.” Both movies received critical acclaim and are contenders for multiple awards at the upcoming Golden Globes.
Speaking with The Playlist in a recent interview, Oppenheimer cast member Blunt reflects on the phenomenon and admits she wants it to happen again. Blunt encourages audiences to “look [at] what it did for cinema” and characterizes Barbenheimer as “joyous and such a celebration of the diverse range of movies out there.” Check out the full quote from Blunt below:
“We have to make it happen again. We have to because look what it did for cinema. Look what it did for people. It was joyous and such a celebration of the diverse range of movies out there. And why do they have to be pitted against each other? Just go see both. I want it to happen more and more and more. It’s fantastic.”
17 Barbenheimer Box Office Records & Incredible Achievements After Barbie & Oppenheimer’s Opening
Instead of one winning and one losing, both Barbie and Oppenheimer won “Barbenheimer” weekend, and the movies have set numerous box office records.
Why Barbenheimer Is A Double-Edged Sword
On the one hand, Blunt has a point. Barbenheimer did encourage general audiences to go see Oppenheimer when they may not have normally been interested in it, and the same was true for Barbie. This trend led to both films becoming immense box office successes, each holding a spot in the top three titles at the worldwide box office for 2023. Barbie made over $1.4 billion worldwide during its run, and Oppenheimer took in $952 million.
However, Barbenheimer’s success can also lead to a misunderstanding. Barbie’s huge box office gains, partially driven by its competition with Oppenheimer, has encouraged Mattel to dive into production on more films based on toys. However, one could argue that what made Greta Gerwig’s movie great wasn’t its source material, but rather its strong script and feminist themes. Trying to replicate this phenomenon purely on a financial level will likely never work.
Getting another Barbenheimer also depends on the specific combination of movies. What made the movement work for Oppenheimer is the fact that Christopher Nolan’s biopic was already so highly anticipated. If it had not been, there wouldn’t have been as much discussion around it releasing at the same time as another hotly debated movie, Barbie. Thus, while it is possible for Barbenheimer to be repeated, Hollywood should do so with extreme caution.
Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy , Emily Blunt , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Rami Malek , Florence Pugh
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 150 Minutes
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
- Budget
- $100 Million
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
