Here is what critics are saying about the movie showdown of the summer. Which half of āBarbenheimerā ended up on top?
I donāt even understand this matchup. Theyāre not even similar movies, but itās been hyped like theyāre competing against each other since they were announced. Itās weird.
Itās basically a new front on the culture wars - feminine vs masculine. So tiresome. Theyāre both good films.
Iām not kidding, in the US at least there is growing divide between the genders and anything that ārepresents them.ā We saw it first with review bombing of movies like Joker and then Ms Marvel. It was a tit for tat with incels and femcels going at it. I try to ignore it, but itās so toxic and ruins nice things for everyone else.
I think it is because they are so different. The contrast is amusing so people are having fun with it. Itās like the Matrix vs Momma Mia release or Doom vs Animal Crossing game release.
If anything, itās been really refreshing to see. Twenty years ago, your average film bro would be calling Barbie dumb, girly, and gay, and now itās being widely acknowledged that a female-directed movie with explicitly feminine aesthetics can absolutely be quality legitimate Cinemaā¢ and go toe-to-toe with a literal Christopher Nolan biopic about a scientist making a bomb during WWII.
Itās because theyāre releasing the same week. They literally are competing.
Theyāre entirely different demographics with arguably close to zero overlap. Where is the competition?
Movies that release at the same time are considered to be competing because most audiences donāt go watch two movies in a weekend, they pick 1. Genre and demographic donāt necessarily have to be the same for movies to compete but thereās definitely overlap here. Barbie is being made by an auteur director, just like Oppenheimer. Thatās partially why Barbie has hype, thereās a legitimately great director handling it instead of some unknown that is more likely to be pushed around by producers. Me and most of my friends all want to see both and weāre 30 year olds. Also worth mentioning that couples generally alternate between who gets to pick the movie and this is a perfect example of dudes wanting Oppy and ladies wanting Barbie - who will come out on top? Itās fun to talk about.
Itās just a meme, since theyāre both highly anticipated movies with very different vibes releasing on the same day. I donāt think most people are actually expecting them to compete (if anything, most of the jokes I see are about watching a Barbie/Oppenheimer double feature). Itās the same as the Doom Eternal/Animal Crossing jokes a few years back