Anyone not aware of the Barbenheimer phenomenon must be living in a cave. Just five days after their marketing masterstroke simultaneous release, the inextricably linked “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have crushed the box office. Ticket sales for Greta Gerwig’s pink-tinged romp has crossed $200 million and Christopher Nolan’s serious three-hour “Oppenheimer” has surpassed $100 million, with lots more to come. Although I’m not a movie critic, I do take my films seriously and so I’ll share my scores with you. “Oppenheimer” is a must-see masterpiece, and although probably 30 minutes too long, it still gets 5/5. “Barbie” is lots of fun, suitable for date-night, and both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are terrific: I give it 4/5.
Source: Variety
How about the rest of the box office?
With theaters shuttered in 2020, box office revenues plummeted. In 2021, global theatrical revenues jumped 70%. Superheroes like Spiderman drew audiences back to the big screen. In 2022 the recovery continued, rising 27% year on year as studios released further installments of big franchises like Top Gun, but nevertheless, the global box office in 2022 was still 39% beneath the market in 2019. In the US total attendance in 2022, as measured by the number of tickets sold, was 34% lower than in 2019.
The decline in movie theater attendance began well before the pandemic as flat-screen technology improved, streaming services gained ground, and as content shifted focus to high quality television series like Game of Thrones. Those developments also drove continued declines in cable television.
Source: Robeco
If you want a good movie experience, Barbenheimer might just do the trick.
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