Barbie and Oppenheimer Opened the Same Day and America Chose Both

On July 21, 2023, Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend, and the internet — with an enthusiasm that could only be described as unhinged — decided they were a double feature. "Barbenheimer" became a cultural event that had nothing to do with either film's studio and everything to do with the collective desire to have a Moment. People dressed in pink for Barbie, then changed into suits for Oppenheimer. Memes combined nuclear physics with dream houses. AMC reported its biggest single day in the company's history. Barbie grossed $1.4 billion. Oppenheimer made $950 million. Together, they proved something the industry had been trying to wish into existence for years: people will still go to movie theaters, enthusiastically, if you give them something worth going for. The fact that it took the most unlikely double feature imaginable to prove this was either heartwarming or damning, depending on your optimism level.