A Long Due Cinematic Renaissance: Barbenheimer
The double feature in cinema has sparked a heated debate, taking over the internet & becoming the center of attention worldwide.
It’s been a long time since two major film directors came out with films with fully talented and worthy casts, and possibly a long time since Hollywood has had a momentary display of craftsmanship. The film industry, which was severely impacted by the pandemic, has been rejuvenated by the pre-COVID-style movie promotion, with both films taking center stage. Enthusiastic & fun promo being back with Barbie & the humble roll-out of Oppenheimer; cinemas are almost fully booked till the end of August. Despite the allure of streaming services, the films have managed to bring back the enchanting side of going to movie theaters. We can say that the last time a production has had a hype to this level was the Avengers: Endgame (2018) release — which was almost 5 years ago. With the recent SAG-AFTRA strike going on, we can assure that this has added an emotional layer to the moment.
Breaking records left and right, both films capture a significant cultural and possibly left a permanent mark in the world history. ‘Barbie’, a cultural phenomenon and a main symbol of children’s dolls, resembles the American feminism with the input of Greta Gerwig’s pattern of woman empowerment. As ‘Oppenheimer’ brings us a point of view from the father of the atomic bomb.
Nolan’s Oppenheimer, filmed on IMAX 70MM, is an outstanding yet ambitious 3-hour exploration of a biographical and political subject: the making of an atomic bomb. Due to it’s length, the screening sessions in theaters of the production it has a bit limited — especially considering the high demand of IMAX slots. On the other hand Barbie is 1 hour 54 minutes long, and with the options of standard screens, and high promo that made our expectations go high, more screenings are available to experience the film. Yet, both have had breathtaking success which will be continuing for a while. According to CNN, with domestic “Barbie” impressing with $93 million in gross revenue and international “Barbie” bringing in around $122 million, making it the №1 release worldwide. It is the largest domestic second weekend performance ever for Warner Bros., which distributed the movie. “Oppenheimer” also had a blowout weekend, with a domestic total of $46 million, according to estimates from media analytics company Comscore, bringing its worldwide total to almost half a billion dollars. Universal, which distributed the movie, estimated Oppenheimer will be Nolan’s biggest non-superhero film of all-time in 40 regions, and his biggest film ever in 28.
The most positive part of the double release is that both audiences thrive to see one other film and plan to see them back to back. People are casualy having discussions about which order would be the best order to watch. No discrimination or hatred for one other! Even though both of the films are *almost* the opposite of each other (well, at least the color palette is), they are forever acquainted with one other in many’s minds.
Thus, just in the first week of release, both films have left a permanent mark in history.
Which order will you choose to watch the double feature? Or have you already watched them?
