Last year, two films particularly marked the summer period. We are, of course, talking about barbie andOppenheimer. Seeing two highly anticipated and completely opposite films released on the same day created an 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 cinemas 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 last summer’s feat…
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 andOppenheimer. If Gladiator II And Wicked are two big films currently in theaters, the impact has nothing to do with them. During its launch weekend in the United States, the adventures of the legendary witches of Oz brought in $114 million at the box office while the peplum worn by Paul Mescal collected $55.5 million. To give you an idea, Barbie had the best start of 2023 in the USA with $155 million and Nolan’s latest film generated more than $80 million for their launch weekend.
If Wicked And Gladiator II were both eagerly awaited by moviegoers, the enthusiasm has nothing to do with that created by the releases of barbie andOppenheimer. Especially since the duel is less relevant to highlight. If the two films were released on the same day in the United States, this is not at all the case elsewhere in the world. At our place, Wicked has just been released in cinemas while Gladiator II is already in its fourth week of operation.
However, Hollywood is doing everything it can to repeat the phenomenon. The adaptation of one of the most lucrative musicals on Broadway benefits from a huge marketing budget: $320 million for its promotion. There is something to recall the almost suffocating promotional campaign for the film worn by Margot Robbie in 2023. Like barbie, Wicked multiplies collaborations with brands and the two main actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been in the theme for months at each of their appearances.
