The Barbenheimer Effect: Scorsese's "After Hours" turned into a marketing strategy.

When "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" hit theaters in July of 2023, cinemas worldwide experienced ecstasy. Pure ecstasy not only in economic terms but as a feeling that moviegoers were back in theaters. I was in ecstasy too. It was unique, and from my perspective of analytical film analysis, the so-called Barbenheimer effect was fascinating. That is why I wrote a piece for my X-blog that I updated here with new thoughts.  

"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" releases resulted in a triumph, with over $550 million grossed worldwide over four days, marking the best figures since 2019. How did that happen? The explosive combination of both releases went beyond the films themselves, pointing to a topic that we often discuss in Film Studies classes. This is the social power that film apparatus still has, thanks to the characters, actors, and other film elements that transcend the silver screen.

One of the main reasons for this success is the organic origin of the Barbenheimer idea, which quickly went viral and consequently was adopted by the two studios behind the movies: Warner and Universal. 

When it was known that the two films would go head-to-head this July weekend, many Twitter users began creating memes and jokes about how opposite the two films are. One of the first images that illustrated this was of two houses in the Palisades, an upscale area in Los Angeles, between Santa Monica and Malibu. One of the houses is painted almost black, and the other in pink and purple. Batman versus Barbie, but that quickly adapted to Oppenheimer and Barbie's characters and their 2023 representations: Cillian Murphy and Margot Robbie.

At this point, it's crucial to understand Barbie as the great savior of this movement, and the reason is very cinematic. The concept of Barbie embodies a carefree, fun-loving, pink-clad blonde. Oppenheimer, on the other hand, is a reserved, methodical, antisocial scientist who has never let loose. Does it sound familiar? Of course! In a way, it's the classic story we've seen in dozens of movies: the cheerful girl (usually blonde) who takes the serious gentleman out of his "comfort zone" to show him what life is about. In other words, Barbenheimer is Scorsese's "After Hours" turned into a marketing strategy. 

The existence of both releases became intertwined uniquely, highlighting them and feeding them to a new level of anticipation. Both functioned almost as a single element that resonated with all possible audiences. 

Barbenheimer invites an adult audience to an intellectual analysis of the history of our present by analyzing two milestones from the '50s and '60s that influenced our present: atomic power and gender liberation. Moreover, they are reinforced by one of film history's most archetypical romantic comedy structures. "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are two works signed by internationally recognized directors, each with its league of followers. The effect also favored Barbie in leaping over potential boycotts among the more conservative community, even though the film had a lot of backlash from male spectators. But the critical point is that Barbieheimer rejuvenated two movies and brought them closer to Gen X audiences who saw the premiere as one of their viral challenges—which seems to be the only way to motivate the younger ones, at least in the US. Seeing young people watching "Oppenheimer" is both confusing and wonderful.

While most rom-coms have been created from a male gaze, and "After Hours" is not an exception, Barbenheimer and its expansion to both films point to this idea of the gaze and the spectator. While "Barbie" can be intrinsically related to the female gaze, "Oppenheimer" hits all the marks for the male gaze. "Barbie" opens the dialogue around female spectatorship and how movie apparatus can influence that engagement. In "After Hours," the audience ends up knowing what it means to break your own rules and concerns and experience life from a more flexible perspective. But Barbenheimer twists this structure and questions the roles of both genres and their social duties, pressures, and urgencies.  

Looking at the moments leading up to Barbenheimer, the expectations for Barbie and Oppenheimer were high but far from what we saw this weekend. Those expectations have been increasing weekly with audience tracking and presales that had no ceiling. Many of us didn't know what to expect from the two releases because our post-pandemic minds couldn't conceive what would happen. It is like a meta way to experience film apparatus, including marketing and its social connections.

We will never know the real effect of Barbenheimer on economic terms, but both movies far exceeded the wildest expectations. In some way, their present and future are intertwined, like Paul and Marcy in "After Hours." 

The audience wants to go to the movies. They probably want to be drawn by proposals that motivate them, and marketing is vital. Hollywood is in a serious identity crisis both in terms of narrative and economically, mainly because the connection that the star system and marketing offered in the past is now erased or, at least, challenged. The lack of control over macro-releases derived from sequels and franchises has saturated an audience and disconnected the movies from character-driven or star-power ideas. Obviously, I am talking about Hollywood, not the other (important) part of cinema, which is independent cinema or international cinema. The triumph of Barbenheimer is the triumph of what cinema still means for all kinds of audiences.