‘Barbenheimer’: Which movie will you choose?

CHUBBUCK — Two of the most anticipated films of the year came out on the same day, and they appeared to be polar opposites. EastIdahoNews.com went to the AMC Theater in Chubbuck to interview people going to either movie and ask them why they chose the one that they did.

The two films are “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, directed by Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan and distributed by Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures, respectively.

Although these two films seem to have nothing in common, they actually share some similarities. Nolan and Gerwig are both Oscar-winning directors, both have huge ensemble casts of stars, and they are both produced by husband and wife production companies.

Syncopy Inc. was founded by Nolan along with his wife, Emma Thomas, and LuckyChap Entertainment was founded by Margot Robbie and her husband, Tom Ackerley. Not only that, but they’re also both movies that have a distinct vision that the cast and crew wholeheartedly believe in.

Being released on the same day, the internet blew up with memes comparing the two films, commonly known as “Barbenheimer” memes. Doing the “Double Feature” is a part of that meme, with people going to both films on the same day. Despite this, EastIdahoNews.com couldn’t find anyone doing the double feature, but people did express interest in seeing both films.

Tamara Lish, on her way to see “Barbie,” said she hadn’t seen any of the “Barbenheimer” memes and hadn’t heard of “Oppenheimer.”

“I haven’t heard about that, but now I’m interested,” Lish said.

Many people who came to the AMC Classic Pine Ridge 11 to see the Barbie film were decked out in pink clothing. Two people, Chloe Reid and Kiandra Brown, wore pink cowgirl outfits to the movie resembling a costume Robbie wears in the film.

“Barbie is just a girl’s girl. She’s the iconic symbol of womanhood and femininity,” Brown said.

RELATED | ‘Barbie’ movie’s pink paint splurge led to global shortage, production designer says

“To have it in an adult format, but a little bit more like we always grew up with. … It’s just a great nostalgic way to remember something,” Reid said.

Ayden Davis, who went to go see “Oppenheimer,” said that the main thing that got him excited to go see the film was its director, as well as the huge ensemble cast of respected actors. He and his friends talked about doing the double feature but ultimately decided against it.

“I do find it quite amusing because I’ve even made jokes with my friends where one of them asked, ‘What do you associate with Barbie?’ and my first thought was nuclear weapons,” Davis said.

Davis said he thought “Barbenheimer” became a meme because, “of the release dates being the exact same day while being such polar opposite concepts.”

Reid and Brown both agreed that the reason why “Barbenheimer” became such a prevalent meme is because of the contrast between the two films.

“Barbie is everything pink and feminine and all about womanhood, and Oppenheimer is so much more like serious and masculine,” Brown said. “But … they both really kind of impacted U.S. history.”

“Just the absolute whiplash of it kind of made people feel a little bit silly and fun and go, ‘Oh … go watch both in the same day,'” Reid said.

Although the majority of people that briefly spoke to EastIdahoNews.com while on their way to see Oppenheimer weren’t interested in the other film, Davis said that he will definitely see Barbie at some point because it “honestly like a pretty good movie.”

Reid and Brown both said that they would watch “Oppenheimer” at some point in the future as well, but to them, Friday was for “Barbie.”

“We’re all Barbie girls in a Barbie world today,” Reid said.