“Barbenheimer” is taking the world by storm—the term, which has produced countless memes, articles, and even its own Wikipedia page, refers to the dueling films coming to theaters on the same day. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer will be coming to theaters on July 21st, and people are already flocking to pre-order tickets to the paradoxical doubleheader.
Perhaps it’s the A-list casts featured in the films or the relentless campaigning that’s dominated our social media feeds. Or better yet, it’s probably the completely contrasting genres and subject matter of the two films that have people pairing the two together. On the one hand, we have a happy-go-lucky comedy based on the world’s most famous doll, and on the other, we have a biographical thriller about the construction of the atomic bomb. While you might think these movies would attract two entirely different audiences, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
In fact, over 20,000 people have already purchased tickets to see both flicks on the same day, as AMC reports. Elizabeth Frank, executive vice president of worldwide programming & chief content officer at AMC Theaters remarked that it’s “a great sign that the growing online conversation around seeing both of these incredible films is turning into ticket sales.”
Even Cillian Murphy, who plays the titular character in Oppenheimer is encouraging fans to embrace the doubleheader trend. “My advice would be for people to go see both on the same day,” he stated. “You can spend the whole day in the cinema, what’s better than that?”
With record-breaking heat this summer, we can’t imagine anything better than a day in an ice-cold theater.