Friendly 'Barbenheimer' Rivalry Is 'Changing the Rules'

It is quite simply the "biggest movie weekend in years," declares the Ringer. The reference, of course, is to Friday's opening of two potential blockbusters, Barbie and Oppenheimer, a phenomenon that has been shortened to "Barbenheimer" in public discourse. A look at coverage, ranging from the serious to the frivolous:

• Reviews: You can check out our roundup of reviews of both Barbie (directed by Greta Gerwig) and Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan).
• Different rivalry: It used to be that blockbusters released on the same day became cutthroat rivals. Not so in this case, writes Sam Adams at Slate. Stars from the different movies are encouraging people to see the other. "It's sort of changing the rules on what marketplace factors are in play, what strategies studios are using to get their movies out there," Paul Dergarabedian, an entertainment media analyst for Comscore, tells Adams. "Sometimes in this business, things that look counterintuitive, like putting two movies like this on the same weekend, or filmmakers with movies from rival studios helping each other out, can benefit all of the movies in the marketplace." It also may speak to the precarious future of Hollywood: Studios need more people in theater seats, period.

• Early winner: From a purely box office perspective, Barbie is the early winner, notes Deadline. It has pulled in more than $22 million in preview viewings, the most of any movie this year and well ahead of the $10.5 million of Oppenheimer. Barbie is projected to pull in $110 million in its opening weekend, more than double Oppenheimer's $50 million, per the AV Club. But it's possible Barbie's popularity could fade, while Oppenheimer continues to draw solidly, if unspectacularly, longer.
• Double feature: CNN notes that many fans plans to take in both movies on Friday, and the site offers some advice. The big one: See Oppenheimer first, in order to get the "intense" viewing out of the way. To dress the part, Variety notes that Barbenheimer mashup T-shirts are available. And speaking of movie mashups, all kinds of fake Barbenheimer trailers are circulating: See here.
• A quiz: For those who want to see just one of the films and can't decide, the New York Times offers a quiz to help. Sample question: Would you rather "sink into a circular bed," "learn to use a Geiger counter," or "learn to use a Geiger counter from the comfort of your circular bed."
• Capitol Hill: Politico quizzed senators on which movie they plan to see. Democrat Elizabeth Warren is the Barbie camp, for example, while Republican Steve Daines and Democrat Chuck Schumer are in the Oppenheimer camp. Democrat Cory Booker plans to see both, while Republican James Lankford plans to see neither.

(More Barbie movie stories.)