‘Gladiator II’ and ‘Wicked’ Are Not Going to Be the Next ‘Barbenheimer’

Last year, Barbie and Oppenheimer combined to set the box office and Hollywood in general ablaze with Barbenheimer. What initially seemed like a silly idea, opening two big films on the same day, instead ginned up the business, leading to Academy Award attention for both, including the Oscar for Best Picture in the case of the latter. Since then, studios have been trying to duplicate it, with no success. Now, another possibility is presenting itself, though I’m skeptical that Barbenheimer can ever be matched.

This weekend, Gladiator II and Wicked are coming out on the same day. Some have dubbed this event Glicked, hoping to replicate last year’s success. Now, both movies should make a ton of money. The former has good reviews, with the latter having largely great ones. Now, I’m more lukewarm on both, as you can see here and here, though I gave positive reviews to each. The thing is, neither is capturing the zeitgeist on their own, like Barbie and Oppenheimer did. If they can’t do it on their own, they won’t be able to do it together.

When I wrote about Barbenheimer here last year, I said the following:

If you’re an audience member, the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, as well as the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer, is a joy to behold. Quality cinema, offering up two very different but equally terrific looks at the potential of the medium, that also manages to be wildly successful? What’s not to like. Fans of the movies in general should be delighted that both of these specific titles are not just critically acclaimed, coronated by audiences, and pop culture juggernauts, but also likely awards players. Now, if you’re a studio? The Barbenheimer success is equally pleasing, but for different reasons. An executive is just trying to figure out how to replicate it, which is bound for failure. Today, I want to talk a bit about the right lessons to take here, as opposed to what’s going to happen.

A studio sees the success of Barbenheimer and wants to grow it again in a lab. Moreover, Barbie alone is inspiring Mattel to develop film versions of as many toys of theirs as possible. Mark my words, those movies will almost exclusively fall well short of the mark. Where they should look at Oppenheimer and see reason to support adult storytelling, they’ll ignore that in favor of potential shortcuts. They’ll cultivate influencers more (which isn’t inherently bad, but if it’s at the expense of critics, it will be), hoping things go viral, instead of considering that two creative risks paid off in spades. Barbenheimer had about a year to grow organically, created outside of the studios and pushed by fans or just those curious about it all. You can’t make that in a sterile environment, though they’re sure going to try.

These are the wrong lessons to take. For one thing, not every pairing is going to be Barbie and Oppenheimer, quality-wise. I love the Saw franchise, but anyone thinking Saw Patrol is going to work with Saw X and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie is an unhinged individual. Most of these pairings aren’t going to be done by A-list filmmakers, either. Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan are the exceptions, not the rules.

What should they be doing? Absolutely nothing. Something like Barbenheimer comes to you organically and you ride the wave, that’s it. However, decision makers at production companies and studios are always required to justify their own existence. So, we’re gonna see copycats, forgetting that the purity of the thing is part of what made it take off. Force it down the public’s throats and they’ll reject it, mark my words.

Is it likely that we’ll see nothing done to replicate Barbenheimer? No, though Barbie and Oppenheimer are so specific that they should. More likely, things like Saw Patrol will fall flat (at least in terms of the double feature), though the powers that be will find other things to blame, instead of the flawed concept. Barbenheimer is its own beast and the lesson should be that you can’t force it on people. It has to start out in the world first. The studios won’t listen to me, but at least in this instance…they really should.

Why won’t Glicked (or whatever you’d like to refer to it as) be the next Barbenheimer? Well, what I said above. Moreover, while Jon M. Chu and Ridley Scott are good (or even great in the case of Scott) directors, neither are Greta Gerwig, who has gone three for three in her early filmmaking career, or Christopher Nolan, one of the few rockstar filmmakers out there. Barbie was a curiosity that steadily built up interest, especially once early reviews suggested something distinctive and special. Oppenheimer was the next event picture from Nolan, seen as potentially his Oscar juggernaut, which of course proved to be true. As soon as it was announced, it was anticipated. That kind of situation just can’t be matched.

Now, if you’re excited to double feature Gladiator II and Wicked, don’t let me stop you. Do as you see fit. This just isn’t the next Barbenheimer, which legitimately might be a one-off situation. As such, just enjoy these flicks for what they are. Not everything has to be a cultural movement. Sometimes, a movie is just a movie.

Stay tuned to see if Gladiator II and Wicked can even approach what Barbie and Oppenheimer accomplished with Barbenheimer!