Ever since “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” took the world by storm on Jul. 22, 2023, movie studios have been eager to create the next “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. This year, “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” will be released on Nov. 22, another instance of seemingly polar opposite films taking up screens across the country at the same time. The jury is still out on the “Barbenheimer” name for these two, though. “Wickiator II?” Perhaps, “Glicked?”
Surprisingly, this trend isn’t new. Throughout the last few decades, some of Hollywood’s most iconic films debuted at the same time as others. While the strategy ended up drawing more business to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, this hasn’t always been the case. This list of films spans forgotten gems as well as modern classics.
“Toy Story” and “Casino” (Nov. 22, 1995)
“Casino Story” — another Nov. 22 release date, these two movies couldn’t be any different. Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” may not be remembered in the same way “GoodFellas” is, but when it was released beside Pixar’s groundbreaking “Toy Story” it was considered a success at the box office, earning more than twice what “GoodFellas” did. “Toy Story” did even better financially, which speaks to a classic Hollywood release model: counterprogramming. By releasing two films meant for two completely different demographics, audience turnout as a whole increases.
“Blade Runner” and “The Thing” (Jun. 25, 1982)
“The Thing Runner” — “Gladiator II” isn’t the first time one of Ridley Scott’s films released beside another massively anticipated blockbuster. His cult classic science fiction noir film wasn’t received well upon initial release and Scott himself felt his vision was tampered with and released multiple Director’s Cuts. Similarly, John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was met with audience outrage. The film has a bleak, open-ended conclusion that didn’t suit its summer blockbuster release. The negative reaction to both these films ended up hurting both financially. While I would argue these are both two of the best films of all time, releasing these two unusual science fiction films side-by-side in the middle of the blockbuster season only added to the audience’s disappointments.
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“Elf” and “Love Actually” (Nov. 7, 2003)
“Elf Actually” — Talk about iconic. This release resulted in the exact opposite effect as “Blade Runner” and “The Thing” as it more closely adhered to the counterprogramming strategy. “Elf” and “Love Actually” are still rewatched by millions of fans every year and constantly replay on cable around the holiday season. The key to this successful launch was putting them in theaters in November. In 2024, we’re used to skipping films in theaters knowing they’ll show up on streaming services after just a couple weeks. In Elf’s case, it was left in theaters for 9 weeks on average across the country. Similarly, the classic Hugh Grant holiday romcom “Love Actually” was kept for 7 weeks. The two holiday-themed films kept people coming back to the theater throughout the entirety of November and December and proved very effective.
“Mamma Mia!” and “The Dark Knight” (Jul. 18, 2008)
“The Dark Mamma Mia!” — This example is the closest to the “Barbenheimer” effect and even features another film directed by Christopher Nolan. “Mamma Mia!” and “The Dark Knight” are iconic films today and mean a lot to the generations that grew up watching them. Much like the previous examples of counterprogramming, this one worked wonders and even saw “The Dark Knight” raking in over a billion dollars at the box office. This is a situation in which both films would have been successful no matter what, but releasing them side by side is humorous and proved beneficial for both studios.
It’s impossible to tell what the outcome of the “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” releases will be, hopefully, the trend will continue. There’s nothing more fun than when two good movies hit the mainstream, so maybe Glinda and the Gladiator will bring us back to “Barbenheimer” summer.