The Barbenheimer Phenomenon

[Dave Gray]

This was the 4th biggest box office weekend of all time.

I saw both in the first few days.  I was super surprised to see how many people were at the theater and how many people were wearing pink.  Both seem to have good word of mouth, good critical acclaim, and long legs.

It's exciting to see non-sequels doing well.

[Phishfan]

I'm not going to the the theater for either and have no plans to see Barbie at all

[Dave Gray]

Oppenheimer was a type of movie that I just don't love -- a straightforward biopic.  It was very well done, though.  I have a feeling that over the years, the performances and structure are interesting enough that it will grow on me like similar movies (Spotlight, for example) have.

I thought Barbie was hilarious and I laughed for two hours.  I didn't think the trailers were good, but man that movie was funny and super weird.  ...not at all what I would've expected from a movie like that.

[Spider-Dan]

This was the 4th biggest box office weekend of all time.

Do you happen to know the top 3?

[SlothVomit]

I saw both, in the same day....

Me and my better half pulled the double feature. We saw Oppenheimer first and then Barbie. Oppenheimer was incredible. I love biopics so im biased here, but everything about the film was nothing short of a masterpiece to me. Anyone interested in history knows the story, but seeing it played out on the big screen was great for me. RDJ is so damn good.

Barbie was actually really good as well. I laughed more than i thought i would. No masterpice by any means but it was funny satire. I may have been preoccupied however by Opp. as it was still on my mind while watching this. I could also hear and feel Opp playing next door in IMAX lol. When it comes out on VOD i'll for sure give it another try. I have seen reviews and social media posts surrounding this film stating it's woke blah blah. It's a fucking Barbie movie, relax. Everything nowadays has it's moments for sure, but life is to short to give a shit.

[Dave Gray]

Do you happen to know the top 3?

I'll have to go back and check, to be sure.

I know that one was Avengers Endgame.
Another was The Force Awakens.

I think the third was Avengers Infinity War.  I'll see if I can find it.
This is the only one of the four that was heavily driven by more than one film, though.





Edit: I was correct.  The other one was Infinity War.
https://www.avclub.com/barbenheimer-was-a-bigger-box-office-explosion-than-fir-1850672237

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I HATE that we rank movies based on dollars instead of tickets.  Today's flop grosses more than the most popular movies from the 1970s, because tickets cost 20x as much.

[Sunstroke]

I'm not going to the the theater for either and have no plans to see Barbie at all

Word for word, my response exactly...

[Dave Gray]

I HATE that we rank movies based on dollars instead of tickets.  Today's flop grosses more than the most popular movies from the 1970s, because tickets cost 20x as much.

A flop isn't about tickets.  It's about money made/lost.  Movies make more, yes -- but they cost way more to make, as well.


Movie A can make more than movie B and movie A can be a flop, while movie B will be a runaway success.

Budgets matter, marketing, but a bunch of other stuff, too, like secondary markets, merchandising, etc.

You will often see movies, adjusted for inflation, which will maybe tell you what you're looking for.

[Spider-Dan]

I HATE that we rank movies based on dollars instead of tickets.  Today's flop grosses more than the most popular movies from the 1970s, because tickets cost 20x as much.

The top 5 movies after adjusting for inflation are:

1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. E.T. (1982)
5. Titanic (1999)

There are only three movies this century in the top 25: Star Wars Episode VII (#11), Avatar (#15), and Avengers: Endgame (#16).

It's important to note that no movie will ever touch Gone with the Wind in ticket sales.  That movie (which predated VCRs) was only in theaters for fifty years.