Images credits: Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures
As we transition into the cold winter months, let us reflect on the joy that many of us felt during the warm summer break. For the entertainment industry, an epic summer showdown took place in cinemas across the country as Barbie and Oppenheimer competed for attention and racked up ticket sales. For those who missed the excitement, Barbie is about a doll named Barbie who is living in her perfect world until she takes the chance to go experience the real world and changes her life forever. On the contrary, Oppenheimer is a dramatization of Robert J. Oppenheimer’s adult life, focusing on his time developing the atomic bomb. These contrasting plots allowed for a variety of audiences to be attracted to the movie theater this summer.
When looking at their overall performance, Barbie edged ahead in the competition, bringing in $636 million in comparison to Oppenheimer’s $324 million according to Box Office Mojo. Both movies also performed well internationally with Barbie raking up $805 million while Oppenheimer earned $623 million. As for their performance among AHA students, positive things were said about both movies. For Barbie, Amina Webber ‘27 and Ella Poidinger ‘27 summarized their thoughts by saying that they enjoyed the movie and while they were expecting something different, “it had a good overall message.” When asked for his thoughts on Oppenheimer, Jason Urgiles ‘24 said, “It went above and beyond what my expectations of the movie would be like.” Adding more detail, Patrick Skamser ‘24 said, “I thought the visual effects were stunning. My favorite scene was the atomic bomb testing scene.” Although both movies have largely moved on from theaters, you can still find occasional showings of both movies at local theaters. In addition, you can find both Barbie and Oppenheimer on online streaming platforms right now. If you are looking for good movies to watch over the upcoming school breaks, Barbie and Oppenheimer are very good options and cover two different genres that one could want to watch.