AMC theaters were so impressed by the number of movie fans that had booked tickets to see "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on the same day that the company issued a statement boasting it had sold double features for the films to 20,000 customers.
Elizabeth Frank, executive VP at AMC said, "That more than 20,000 moviegoers have already made plans and purchased tickets to see 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' on the same day is a great sign that the growing online conversation around seeing both of these incredible films is turning into ticket sales."
The films couldn't be more different in many ways. "Oppenheimer," starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, is a serious look at the efforts to build the atomic bomb that ended World War II.
While "Barbie," starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is a kitschy and neon-flashy look at the fantasy world created to home the characters "Barbie" and "Ken."
Entertainment-focused outlets highlighted predictions that "Barbie" could potentially earn more at the box office than "Oppenheimer" with ticket sales.
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Both big summer films are being released on the same day, July 21. The juxtaposition between the two will provide a great relief from the seriousness of one, and the silliness of the other.
Analysts are focusing heavily on the two films' opening weekend as a signal of how they will perform in the weeks that follow.
The thousands of presale tickets sold are an optimistic sign of how the films might fare this season.
