Warner Bros/Universal
Earlier this year, movie fans sighed a collective and exasperated groan thanks to a report that claimed Oppenheimer—Christopher Nolan’s film about the development of the atomic bomb—would not be released on July 21st as originally planned.
That quickly debunked rumor riled up people for a couple of reasons.
The most obvious was that there is an insane amount of hype around Oppenheimer thanks to the star-studded cast Nolan assembled in the hopes of bouncing back from the relatively disappointing showing that was Tenet.
The second was the fact that the scheduled release day had the potential to be the pinnacle of cinema as we know it, as Greta Gerwig’s equally star-studded (and arguably just as anticipated) Barbie movie is slated to hit theaters the same day and set up a box office battle for the ages.
Barring an incredibly unexpected development, we will be treated to one of the most anticipated showdowns in Hollywood history in less than two months, and plenty of people have spent a fair amount of time debating which of those two movies deserved to be prioritized when that fateful day finally arrives.
In my opinion, the most obvious solution is a back-to-back double feature where you ease into things with Oppenheimer before using the slightly more lighthearted Barbie to cleanse your cinematic palate.
Matt Damon is obviously a bit biased when you consider he’s playing General Leslie Groves in what appears to have the potential to be Nolan’s magnum opus, but he did give a pretty diplomatic answer when asked about the topic during a recent discussion with Vanity Fair, saying:
“This is the first I’m hearing about it, actually. I haven’t paid any attention to that. People are allowed to go see two movies in a weekend. Oppenheimer is one of them!”
I cannot wait to do exactly that.