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Campus voice: which film won the Barbenheimer battle?

Bridget Overby | Presentation Director

The numbers are in. But now, we want to hear from you. Which movie do you think won the opening weekend battle?

This past weekend, moviegoers entered theaters in either hot pink, 1940s formal wear or somewhere in between. A year ago that would have been confusing, but now it represents one of the most-anticipated weekends of the year: Barbenheimer.

The two films people likely saw in theaters this weekend were Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” or Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which both couldn’t be further apart stylistically. But, the odd-couple routine sparked discourse about which people would see first, how people would see both on the same day and, of course, which might “win” the rivalry between the goliaths.

After an immensely successful weekend in cinema, “Barbie” was the highest-grossing movie of the weekend, raking in $155 million. ‘Oppenheimer’ trailed the pink powerhouse, earning $80.5 million.

The weekend of July 21, 2023, is anticipated to go down as one of the most profitable weekends in cinematic history, proving the Barbenheimer phenomenon as not only the inspiration for TikTok videos and “Kenergy,” but also a wildly successful marketing campaign that brought audiences back to theaters everywhere. The numbers are in. But now, we want to hear from you. Which movie do you think won the opening weekend battle?







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