Visiting the movie theater this weekend was a cultural moment the likes of which hasn’t been seen in years — and for two films that weren’t action or superhero franchises.
At The Grove in L.A., and by all accounts all across the country, movie fans came dressed as Barbies and Kens. One woman had the black-and-white stripe Barbie origin outfit down to the heels, and added a Dior bag, natch. Another guy cribbed from the film trailer and sported Ken’s macho black-and-white Western look with fringe shirt. They took turns posing in the life-size, Instagram-ready toy boxes for photos and selfies. It was adorable.
Another young couple came in 1940s-inspired suits and fedoras, paying homage to Universal Pictures’ much darker tale, “Oppenheimer.” Another fan went full “Barbenheimer” in a pink suit and fedora, and another repped the meme in a T-shirt parodying the “Wish You Were Here” Pink Floyd album cover featuring a pink-clad Barbie shaking hands with an on-fire Robert Oppenheimer. Wow.
In the theater, there were laughs, tears and cheers — and, at least in Cleveland, I’m told, gasps when Margot Robbie opened her “Barbie” closet to reveal a collection of Chanel. It was the ultimate real world-meets-fantasy-world tie-up for the Chanel luxury brand ambassador.
In the midst of a near total Hollywood shutdown, the films — which together grossed $244 million this weekend — represented the best of movie magic. Their success proved two can be better than one, and competition can actually help when it comes to an opening weekend. The outcome also owed a lot to those social media memes, which can be potent marketing tools (so much so, one almost wondered if the studios came up with “Barbenheimer” themselves).
The blockbuster weekend also suggested that moviegoers are happy to pry themselves from their couches, and forgo streaming at home or on their phones to go to the theater — if it’s an experience….
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