Why Glicked is far from the Barbenheimer phenomenon

© Universal Studio/Paramount Pictures

Last year, two films particularly marked the summer period. We are talking, of course, about Barbie and Oppenheimer. Seeing two highly anticipated films that are complete opposites come out on the same day was quite the event: “Barbenheimer”. Whether it's Greta Gerwig's film about the Mattel doll or Christopher Nolan's about the father of the atomic bomb, they both made it possible to achieve the most lucrative weekend of 2024 for movie theaters and have accumulated records.

This duel at the top seems to have given ideas to Hollywood, which hopes to repeat the phenomenon with “Glicked”, namely Gladiator II and Wicked. But we are far from the feat of last summer…

Glicked, not up to Barbenheimer ?

When we talk about “Barbenheimer”, we are still talking about the fourth most profitable weekend in the history of cinema. On the networks, we only talk about Barbie and Oppenheimer. If Gladiator II and Wickedare two big films currently in theaters, the impact is nothing like that. During their opening weekend in the United States, the adventures of the legendary witches of Oz brought in $114 million at the box office while the peplum carried by Paul Mescal collected $55.5 million. To give you an idea, Barbie had the best start of 2023 in the US with $155 million and Nolan's latest film generated more than $80 million for their opening weekend.

While Wicked and Gladiator II were both highly anticipated by moviegoers, the craze has nothing to do with that created by the releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Especially since the duel is less relevant to highlight. While both films were released on the same day in the United States, this is not at all the case elsewhere in the world. In our country, Wicked has just been released in theaters while Gladiator II is already in its fourth week of operation.

Yet Hollywood is doing everything it can to repeat the phenomenon. The adaptation of one of the most lucrative Broadway musicals is benefiting from a huge marketing budget: $320 million for its promotion. There is something to recall about the almost suffocating promotional campaign for the film starring Margot Robbie in 2023. Like Barbie, Wicked multiplies collaborations with brands and the two main actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been on the theme for months with each of their appearances.

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