Are you ready for Barbieheimer? It feels as though ever since the release dates for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were set, cinephiles have been having an absolute blast at the idea of the two movies coming out on the exact same day. There have been so many memes, and same-day double feature ticket sales are real, making this weekend quite an eventful one to be in movie theaters. But did you know iconic pairings such as Barbieheimer have occurred before in movie history?
What same-day movie release pairings would the internet have absolutely geeked about in retrospect? From The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia having neighboring theatrical openings in 2008, to ‘80s classic movies Ghostbusters and Gremlins sharing the same summer date, let’s talk about ten times big and beloved movies premiered on the same day and how things shook out in theaters.
Poltergeist Vs. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
On June 4, 1982, moviegoers could buy a ticket to both the Steven Spielberg horror classic Poltergeist and arguably the most beloved of all the Star Trek movies ever made, Wrath of Khan. Both movies shared some major (and quite comparable) success in this case. Poltergeist was the highest-grossing horror movie of 1982, at No. 8 in overall movies that year along with some really positive buzz from critics and audiences alike. The Star Trek sequel won the match up overall, though, when it had the biggest opening weekend in history at the time. It later became the sixth highest grossing movie of the year. The Trekkies showed up big time, but both of their successes showed there were big audiences for both.
Blade Runner Vs. The Thing
Just three weeks later, another iconic matchup happened in theaters in the year 1982 as well! On June 25th, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and John Carpenter’s The Thing landed in theaters on the same day. Funny enough, the massive successes of both Poltergeist and Star Trek II (along with E.T. and Conan the Barbarian) somewhat hurt the commercial successes of both these movies in the summer of ‘82. Both rather misunderstood, garnering mixed reactions from its audiences at the time, and having OK, but not great box office returns.
Ghostbusters Vs. Gremlins
Jumping over to 1984, two more massive genre films, Ghostbusters and Gremlins, both came out on June 8. Ivan Reitman’s supernatural comedy starring Bill Murray and such won the weekend, with Gremlins swiftly behind and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in its third week of release and still very much making bank. Both Ghostbusters and Gremlins were warmly received in theaters and were among the highest-grossing movies of 1984, with Ghostbusters at No. 2 behind Beverly Hills Cop and Gremlins at No. 4.
Die Hard Vs. A Fish Called Wanda
Another great summer ‘80s release day occurred on July 15, 1988, when both Die Hard and A Fish Called Wanda hit theaters on the exact same day. Neither film earned the distinction of No. 1 at the box office, as the Eddie Murphy-led comedy Coming To America continued to dominate ticket sales a few weeks into its release. Die Hard didn’t necessarily sell critics, but audiences carried the movie to its iconic status and Bruce Willis to a solid breakout movie role.
A Fish Called Wanda was named one of the best movies of the year, led to Kevin Kline winning an Oscar and earned No. 1 at the box office six weeks into its theatrical run before becoming the most rented movie in the U.S. the following year. Both of these made a massive mark on audiences in 1988, but technically Die Hard was the bigger blockbuster.
Batman Vs. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
Here’s one more massive ‘80s versus scenario: Tim Burton’s Batman and Disney classic, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Both summer movies hit theaters on June 23, 1989, and they were top hits of 1989. However, Batman absolutely takes the win here, as it went on to become the highest-grossing movie of that year, and a seminal movie release that directly affects the superhero blockbuster era were in today. In 11 days, Batman became the fastest film to earn $100 million and earned over $400 million worldwide total. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids still had a solid release, with it becoming the sixth highest-grossing movie of 1989!
Boyz N The Hood Vs. Point Break
Well, aren’t these two a solid double feature? On July 12, 1991 moviegoers could experience both Boyz in the Hood and Point Break in theaters for the first time on the same day. Neither movies cracked the top 20 of highest-grossing movies of 1991, with films like Beauty and the Beast, Terminator 2, Silence of the Lambs and Hook being among the biggest blockbusters. Still, their cultural impact and continued following is unquestionable. Overall, Boyz n the Hood edged out Point Break between its higher cash flow and critical praise.
Heat Vs. Jumanji
Another solid matchup of all-time beloved films happened during the holiday season of 1995: Michael Mann’s Heat and Joe Johnston’s Jumanji. These two were very much counter-programing for each other, with one being a violent crime film and the other a family comedy. Considering the holiday weekend, Robin Williams’ charm won over Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s team-up, hitting No. 1 in its first weekend, beating out Toy Story reign for weeks. Jumanji also became the seventh highest-grossing movie of 1995, whereas Heat was No. 25. Since then, both are well loved and have certainly made their mark on modern cinema in their own distinct ways.
10 Things I Hate About You Vs. The Matrix
When we talk about beloved ‘90s movies these days, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Matrix are certainly big favorites that are mentioned high up. Both films premiered on March 31, 1999 too. The Wachowskis' science fiction action movie not only opened at No. 1, it earned one of the best openings for the Spring season ever of the time along with earning praise right off the bat. 10 Things I Hate About You opened at No. 2 at the box office. Obviously we’re talking about two vastly different kinds of movies, but yes, The Matrix was the winner here.
The Dark Knight Vs. Mamma Mia!
15 years before Barbieheimer, there was a comparable matchup on July 18, 2008, when Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! hit theaters. In this instance, The Dark Knight would go on to become the highest-grossing movie of 2008, with an over $1 billion of earnings at the box office, but Mamma Mia! was a big hit too, becoming the No. 5 movie of the year. The Dark Knight has always been well-loved from the get go, but Mamma Mia’s popularity has only but soared since it initially came out.
A Star Is Born Vs. Venom
Anyone else remember the A Star Is Born/Venom memes of 2018? A lot of that had to do with the Oscar-winning drama and superhero flick premiering on the same day: October 5, 2018. It’s hard to choose a winner here, all things considered, but commercially Venom became the most successful of the two with its $856 million worldwide haul, which was the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2018. A Star Is Born was No. 21, but it also received a ton of award buzz and was one of the most popular movies of the year.
It sure is fun to think about all these double features in retrospect. Did you turn out twice in the movie theaters for any of these and which did you choose first? The next massive cinematic showdown comes this weekend, July 21 when both Barbie and Oppenheimer hits theaters.
