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Barbenheimer, Revisited

The lesson learned from Hollywood’s biggest weekend of the Covid era is that there’s really no lesson to be learned.

Barbenheimer awakened normal people to the continued existence of a theatrical window.
Barbenheimer awakened normal people to the continued existence of a theatrical window. Photo: Courtesy of Universal Pictures & Warner Bros. Pictures
Matthew Belloni
July 24, 2023

Here’s a fun and telling stat: 6 percent of people who saw Oppenheimer this weekend did so because Barbie was sold out, according to a poll by The Quorum. That might not be a huge number, but it’s not nothing. It would mean that about $5 million of Oppenheimer’s huge $80.5 million domestic gross ($174 million worldwide) came directly from people being unable to see their first choice, which went on to gross $155 million domestic ($337 million worldwide)—a clear sign that these two movies didn’t just expand the theatrical marketplace to a Covid-era record $300 million weekend domestic, they actively benefitted each other.