barbenheimer

According to the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” across theaters in North America this weekend.

There are several reasons contributing to this cultural phenomenon. For one thing, viewers are pretty much guaranteed to not get bored. Whether you choose to wash down Christopher Nolan’s darkly captivating biopic with Greta Gerwig’s all-pink meta fever dream, or reverse that order, you’ll go on a cinematic ride.

Plus, the aggressive marketing of both films, the memes that have taken over the internet and the fact that there’s an opportunity for costumes has transformed the twin debut from a movie premiere into a bona fide moment viewers can get creative participating in, adding more to the thrill of it all.

And while Barbenheimer’s popularity might appear to be a lightning in a bottle situation, maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s something we’ve been collectively yearning for for quite a while.