It’s an excellent weekend to go to theaters, considering two beloved filmmakers have brand new movies out. Greta Gerwig released Barbie, while Christopher Nolan dropped Oppenheimer. Both movies are about culturally impactful productions, but the energy of the two flicks could not be more different, considering one pertains to to Mattel’s popular doll brand and the other the creation of the atomic bomb. But while one crowd of movie fans sat for Nolan’s sobering epic, a bit of Barbie fun leaked into the frame… literally. Due to a glitch, the showing sported a half-pink screen, and it's giving all of the "Barbenheimer" vibes.
One Twitter user reported that their sister’s screening of Oppenheimer had some technical difficulties during the last 20 minutes of the three-hour movie. Check out what happened:
Omg I didn't think this would ~blow up~ but my sister is really excited so she sent more pics pic.twitter.com/BbaQ1TXX3VJuly 22, 2023
As you can see, the right half of the big-screen viewing of Oppenheimer became a bright pink. My favorite part is the second image where the split screen makes the credit roll bright pink lettering for all the actors names, with white lettering on the left side for their respective character. It looks totally intentional but, nope, this is just the case of a wild (and somewhat fitting) accident taking place. And I'm definitely here for it!
It’s a perfect occurrence for this weekend because leading up to the movies' releases, the Internet has been having an absolute field day over them coming out on the same day. The tense historical drama is the opposite of a bright pink kind of motion picture, so the fact that a screening of the actual movie went that hue is too good. One certainly does have to wonder if some clever projectionist is behind the viral moment, though.
What’s especially exciting is both movies are getting rave reviews from audiences. Critics are calling Oppenheimer a masterpiece and Barbie a “generation-defining film”. It feels like this theater mishap was perfect for celebrating the pair of movies debuting together.
Ahead of the weekend, AMC Theaters revealed that what has been coined the "Barbenheimer" double feature is very much real, with over 20 thousand AMC Stub members purchasing same-day tickets to both films. The whole thing is going to be a huge moment for movies in general, with both movies expected to have more than solid openings at the box office this weekend. Greta Gerwig's movie is tracking at $155 million in its debut weekend, while Christopher Nolan's could stand to make $77 million (both domestically), per THR.
Barbie’s numbers could set a record for best domestic opening for a movie from a solo female director, whereas Oppenheimer could very well beat out big IPs like The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with its opening box office haul. In other words, a whole lot of people are going to the movies this weekend, many of which, not for one but two brand new movies.
Chances are your showing of the Cillian Murphy-led movie won't have the same issue as the screening that's making the rounds. However, that shouldn't stop you from fulling embracing the craze that is the Barbenheimer experience! You can check out the two flicks at the center of the hype -- which are both major titles on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases -- right now!
