What does it take to lure people away from streaming and back into long-vacant movie theater seats? It turns out bubble-gum pink nostalgia, several dozen retail collaborations and omnipresent marketing will do the trick.<\/p>\n
In the opening weekend of \u201cBarbie,\u201d the highly anticipated film directed by Greta Gerwig brought in $162 million. That\u2019s the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman and the 20th highest-grossing film opening weekend of all time, according to Box Office Mojo by IMDB Pro, a site that tracks box office revenue.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the theater-going experience seemed kaput<\/em>. Dwindling attendance was largely due to a combination of pandemic closures and the proliferation of\u00a0streaming services\u00a0offering more film entertainment than you could consume in a lifetime. Box office declines led to closures: 2,165 screens in the U.S. closed from 2019 to 2022 \u2014 about 5.3% \u2014 according to a March report by the Cinema Foundation.<\/p>\n Theaters endeavored to make the movie-going experience enticing again through renovations and expanded food and alcohol options. Still, revenue remained lower than before the pandemic: $7.4 billion total gross in 2022, compared with $11.4 billion in 2019, according to Box Office Mojo.<\/p>\n Also see: <\/strong>AMC illegally shared customers\u2019 information with Facebook, lawsuit claims: report<\/p>\n The dire state of theater attendance is what makes \u201cBarbie\u201d so remarkable. When compared with the all-time top opening weekends for summer movies, \u201cBarbie\u201d came in at No. 10, according to Box Office Mojo. For context, while \u201cBarbie\u201d brought in $162 million, the highest-grossing opening weekend ever was for \u201cJurassic World\u201d (2015), with $208.8 million. \u201cBarbie\u201d did outearn franchise follow-ups \u201cJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom\u201d and \u201cJurassic World Dominion,\u201d as well as the \u201cDark Knight\u201d and \u201cSpider-Man\u201d movies.<\/p>\n \u201cBarbie\u201d tells the story of Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, who lives in Barbie Land with many other Barbies and Kens. An existential crisis leads her and Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, to travel to the real world in search of purpose.<\/p>\n Unlike the doll\u2019s typical audience, \u201cBarbie\u201d isn\u2019t meant for small children \u2014 and neither is the marketing. The collaborations for \u201cBarbie\u201d achieved ubiquity in the weeks before the film\u2019s release, through Barbie apparel, Barbie home decor, Barbie pool floats, Barbie candles, Barbie jewelry, Barbie cosmetics, Barbie dog clothes, Barbie hair products, Barbie fast food and much more.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the stars\u2019 public relations tour included Robbie giving a Barbie dream house tour for Architectural Digest magazine and re-creating classic Barbie looks on the red carpet. Gosling showcased his affection for Ken (dubbed \u201cKenergy\u201d) in interviews. The rest of the PR tour was halted by the\u00a0SAG-AFTRA strike, which has brought Hollywood productions virtually to a standstill.<\/p>\n The release of \u201cBarbie\u201d was timed well for very-online consumers. The film\u2019s opening on July 21 landed on the same day as the release of Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cOppenheimer\u201d \u2014 a biographical thriller about J. Robert Oppenheimer\u2019s work on the Manhattan Project that led to the first nuclear bombs. The bizarre juxtaposition of the two very different films by critically acclaimed directors quickly led to a social media phenomenon: Barbenheimer.<\/p>\n The Barbenheimer sensation fed film discourse for months leading up to the films\u2019 releases, sparking bootleg merchandise and birthing memes blending the plastic blonde bombshell with Oppenheimer, portrayed in the film by Cillian Murphy, and a mushroom cloud. A popular meme is the real Oppenheimer\u2019s most notorious quote, originally from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, \u201cNow I am become death, destroyer of worlds,\u201d but styled in Barbie typeface and a hot pink hue.<\/p>\n The social media fervor challenged moviegoers to see both films in succession, spurring theaters to market double-feature ticket packages. The theater giant AMC \u201cOppenheimer\u201d cashed in on Barbenheimer, too, bringing in $80.5 million in its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. It\u2019s the first time that two movies amassed $80 million or more on the same opening weekend, and it was the fourth highest-grossing box office weekend ever, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n A summer of blockbusters might remind people just what they\u2019re missing while they\u2019re scrolling at home. In addition to \u201cBarbie\u201d and \u201cOppenheimer,\u201d the action movie \u201cMission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One\u201d was released on July 12 and set a five-day opening record for the franchise with $80 million.<\/p>\n See<\/strong>: \u2018Barbenheimer\u2019 may have sparked euphoria, but \u2018cash is very tight\u2019 for AMC, CEO warns<\/p>\n There are more upcoming opportunities to draw in audiences: 40% more wide movie releases are expected in 2023 compared with 2022, according to the National Cinema Foundation.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible \u201cBarbie\u201d could start a trend among studios to spend big bucks on marketing in order to keep bringing people back into theaters. Then again, a big budget doesn\u2019t necessarily work if the movie isn\u2019t ultimately well-received. Another Gosling-led film, \u201cBlade Runner 2049,\u201d which was released in 2017, had an estimated $130 million marketing budget but still flopped at the box office.<\/p>\nThe hype machine fueled Barbie\u2019s success<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n AMC,
\n
\n reported that 87,000 members of its loyalty program AMC Stubs\u00a0booked tickets\u00a0to see both films on the same day.<\/p>\nCan \u2018Barbie\u2019 success be replicated?<\/strong><\/h2>\n