Cinema Industry Rebounding with Blockbuster Hits: “Barbenheimer” Opening Credits 09/23

Thinks cinema belongs in the middle of society: Christian Meyer-Pröpstl

29. August 2023

No boredom in the cinema thanks to “Barbenheimer” – opening credits 09/23

Let’s be honest: there was a great fear that another hot summer could nip the tentative successes of the cinema industry in the bud after the shocks caused by the pandemic. And then also – we reported in the last issue – the (fully justified!) script strike and the solidarity of the actors in Hollywood, which initially endanger future projects and now also current starts because the studios risk the strike their PR campaigns without having to realize the stars on the big screen. The last time there was such a double strike was in Hollywood in 1960. On August 17, the participants called on the antitrust authorities to examine the power of the streamers Netflix, Amazon and Disney more closely, because the monopoly position leads to price dumping. These are already without a hot summer, in where people are reluctant to go to the cinema, quite a lot of areas of conflict and unpredictable variables – the end is open.

But then came “Barbenheimer”! There is already a Wikipedia entry on the phenomenon in social networks, which addresses the simultaneous launch of the blockbusters “Barbie” by Greta Gerwig and “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan on July 21. The big Hollywood studios usually avoid too direct competition. But Warner, the production studio behind “Barbie,” and Universal, the studio behind “Oppenheimer,” figured there wasn’t much of an overlap. In any case, the audience success of the films is unbelievable and dress codes like in “Barbie” are otherwise only used for special screenings of animes. For the industry, it is almost even more unbelievable than the audience success that films with a great deal of inventiveness set well over 20 records: In addition to the usual ticket sales and box office results, these are understandable such as “Most successful film of all time by a female director”. With “Most successful opening weekend for a film with an R rating”, but also with “Most successful drama since 2019” for Oppenheimer, it’s already imaginative. Also not quite obvious: According to Universal, “Oppenheimer” is the film with the highest grossing of a film related to the Second World War. To make matters worse, both films are also critics’ favorites.

But there was also criticism. In addition to the fans of the 40 full-length Barbie animation films that have appeared in the last 20 years, who didn’t like the feminism in “Barbie”, especially from the conservative side. Women would be incited against men and masculinity defamed. I guess it depends on how you define masculinity… In Japan, on the other hand, it was appalled that Warner used the “Barbenheimer” memes with Barbie and mushroom cloud for PR. There is no question that cinema unfolded its full potential this summer. Not just in front of, on or behind the screen, but in the middle of society. It won’t be boring in September either. Then the opposite of an overwhelming blockbuster spectacle awaits us, when “Falling Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki, the Finnish master of reduction, conjures up great cinema on the screen with very few means.

Christian Meyer-Pröpstl

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