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US cinema owners are looking to cash in on the meme-driven “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, which has led hundreds of thousands of film-goers to buy tickets to see Barbie on the same day as Oppenheimer this weekend.
The apparent rush to watch the two wildly different films as a double feature — a feat that will take four hours and 54 minutes, excluding toilet breaks — is “maybe a once-in-a-decade” moment for cinemas, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at research group Comscore.
Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, is expected to dominate the box office this weekend, with ticket sales estimated to top $100mn in North America. Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s three-hour film about the “father of the atomic bomb,” is forecast to earn $50mn.
Cinemas, many still struggling from Covid-induced shutdowns and production delays, are trying to make the most of the opportunity by pushing big-ticket concessions. B&B Theatres, a cinema chain, is selling a bourbon cocktail tied to Oppenheimer called The Bomb and a Barbie-themed tequila drink called Think Pink, among other offerings.
Chris Tickner, marketing director at BB Theatres, said he had been stocking up on “premium” concessions but might still have underestimated demand for Barbie merchandise. Fans flocked to a special screening at one of his theatres on Wednesday after they saw images of popcorn boxes made to look like Barbie doll packaging on social media.
“We basically sold out of them” before the official opening of the film on Friday, he said. “After seeing what this weekend’s doing, I wish I had ordered a lot more.”
The juxtaposition of the lip-glossed Barbie and Nolan’s film about the dawn of the nuclear age has given rise to dozens of absurdist memes that mash the two films together. The result has been a groundswell of fan-generated buzz at the peak of the summer film season. “The cultural footprint and the impression this whole Barbenheimer [phenomenon] is creating is really unprecedented,” said Dergarabedian.
The Barbenheimer buzz is especially welcome after the Hollywood actors’ union went on strike, preventing stars from promoting their films. The National Association of Theatre Owners, the US cinema’s lobby group, nodded to the Barbenheimer phenomenon when it projected this week that more than 200,000 fans had bought tickets to see both films on the same day in North America this weekend.
Cinemas have been lifted this year by the first full slate of summer films since 2019, but ticket sales have still lagged behind pre-pandemic levels despite the release of big-budget films such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Flash. US box office receipts are about 21 per cent lower than they were at this time in 2019.
But cinema owners are hoping Barbie and Oppenheimer will deliver a big weekend, while also noting that Nolan’s films tend to increase their audience over a period of weeks.
Anthony LaVerde, chief executive of cinema group Emagine Entertainment, said his team had made sure to schedule the films so there would be no overlap between them, allowing Barbenheimer fans to see both on the same day. “We were very cognisant to schedule the films so you could see one movie and go into the other within 15 minutes,” he said.
Just as important, however, was to make sure its concession offerings were up to speed. On Sunday, some of Emagine’s cinemas will offer a $50 Barbie-themed “bubbles and brunch” package with bottomless mimosas, as well as waffles, eggs, sausage and other breakfast items.
“It’s no secret that theatres generate most of their profit from the selling of concessions,” he said. “So the more innovative concession items you can sell to guests, the more profitable the theatre business.”
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