Is there bad blood behind Barbenheimer? The 'Barbie' vs. 'Oppenheimer' face-off, explained

Inside you there are two wolves, and this weekend, Hollywood has a movie for both.

Moviegoers across the country are preparing for some serious tonal whiplash, as Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," a campy comedy extravaganza based on the doll line, and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," a harrowing three-hour drama about the creation of the atomic bomb, are both hitting theaters. The two films might never have been mentioned in the same breath if not for the fact that they share a July 21 release date, birthing every movie geek's favorite meme of the summer: the double feature known as "Barbenheimer."

But is this all in good fun, or was the box office face-off birthed by some legitimate bad blood? And can only one film emerge victorious, or is the summer movie season big enough for the two of them?

I am become death, the destroyer of Barbie worlds

The road to this weekend's box office battle began in October 2021 when Universal Pictures announced that Nolan's movie "Oppenheimer," the story of "father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer, would hit theaters on July 21, 2023. July is a favorite month for Nolan, who released films like "The Dark Knight" and "Dunkirk" around this same time. But more significant was the fact that the movie was set up at Universal, not Warner Bros.

Nolan had a long relationship with Warner Bros., which was involved in releasing all of his films since 2002's "Insomnia." But this relationship soured in December 2020 after WarnerMedia announced it would premiere all of its 2021 films on HBO Max (now known as Max) and in theaters simultaneously due to the pandemic. At the time, there was concern that this would harm exhibitors struggling to bring consumers back to theaters, and the move was especially controversial given directors whose films were affected said they weren't consulted. Nolan is one of Hollywood's biggest advocates for theaters — Warner Bros. gave his movie "Tenet" a mid-pandemic exclusive theatrical release in 2020 — and he was furious, blasting HBO Max as the "worst streaming service" and saying this is "not how you treat filmmakers and stars."

The following month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nolan was unlikely to return to Warner Bros. for his next project, "in part because he was disappointed with the studio's hybrid distribution strategy for 2021," and it was revealed that "Oppenheimer" had landed at Universal by September 2021. So when Warner Bros. announced in April 2022 that "Barbie" would hit theaters on the same day as "Oppenheimer," it was hard not to speculate that this was the studio's effort to get back at Nolan by pitting one of its movies, a potentially major hit, against his. Puck described the "Barbie" release as a "middle-finger to Universal after it stole Nolan."

But to be fair, Warner Bros. already had a different film, the "Looney Tunes" comedy "Coyote vs. Acme," scheduled for July 21 before "Oppenheimer" announced its release date, so it could be argued the studio was simply swapping one family movie for another on its calendar. Besides, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are clearly very different films, and counterprogramming is an age-old box office strategy that can allow a movie to succeed by appealing to an audience not served by another big release playing in theaters. After all, "Mamma Mia!" opened on the same day as Nolan's "The Dark Knight" in July 2008, and both films were hits.

Make it a double

But it was this extreme dichotomy between "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" that birthed a social media phenomenon. Memes about the shared release date flooded Twitter as fans joked about a double feature pairing two movies that seemed like polar opposites. Jokes aside, Nolan and Gerwig are both auteur directors whose new films are events for movie fans, so for those determined to see both, there were also debates about the ideal viewing order. Would more casual moviegoers be forced to pick one or the other, though?

As July 21 approached, the "Barbie" Twitter account shared a photo of Gerwig and star Margot Robbie holding tickets for "Oppenheimer" and other summer movies, emulating a similar photo shared by Tom Cruise. The message was clear: There's room in theaters for both, and any notion of a feud between the two movies should be put to rest. Echoing that sentiment, "Oppenheimer" star Cillian Murphy told IGN he "can't wait to see" "Barbie," while Nolan said it's "terrific" that there's a "crowded marketplace" in theaters again.

But Insider reported that Nolan wasn't happy about "Barbie" opening on the same day as his film, and when the director was asked if he had seen "Barbie," he gave what the outlet characterized as a "curt response with a hint of disinterest": "No." Still, Warner Bros. Film Group co-CEO Michael De Luca told Variety in June that "we're hoping to get Nolan back," and the outlet said there are signs "that the healing has begun," as Nolan reportedly did post-production work for "Oppenheimer" on the Warners lot. Since 2022, Warner Bros. has also re-emphasized its commitment to theaters. Some Warner Bros. films that were originally set to debut on Max were given exclusive theatrical releases instead, including "Evil Dead Rise" and "Blue Beetle." Jason Kilar, the WarnerMedia CEO behind the controversial HBO Max streaming plan, resigned in April 2022 ahead of the company's merger with Discovery.

Early projections suggest "Barbie" will easily defeat "Oppenheimer" at the box office this weekend. But both movies look set to perform well, and the National Association of Theatre Owners said more than 200,000 people will attend a double feature. So even if Warner Bros. truly was aiming to sabotage Nolan's film, the shared release date could ultimately benefit both parties, inspiring fans to check out a movie they might not have otherwise seen on opening weekend to be part of an online phenomenon. Last summer, "Minions: The Rise of Gru" seemed to get a box office boost because of a TikTok trend of teens dressing in suits to see it. Might the "Barbenheimer" double feature be this summer's equivalent?

Beyond the ironic clash of two different types of films, though, perhaps the meme is resonating for another reason. The fact that this double feature is possible raises hope for a future in which movie theaters, dominated for years by superheroes, offer audiences true variety.

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