‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon hits Rio Rancho

What began as a meme has turned into the cinematic event of the summer.

The “Barbenheimer” double feature, which started as a running gag on social media, has become a real-world sensation in recent weeks. And now it’s here.

Friday, both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opened in theaters. Many moviegoers are planning a double feature trip to cinemas to watch the two drastically different films.

The dual release of these potential blockbusters is expected to do big business at the box office with “Barbie” expected to rake in at least $90 million in domestic ticket sales, with some box office analysts projecting the film could tally upwards of $140 million. “Oppenheimer” is projected to snare between $40 million and $60 million.

“In regards to just both of the movies working so well with each other marketing wise, I’ve never seen that before,” Tacoma Horn, manager of Premiere 14 Cinema in Rio Rancho, said. “I’ve been here for five years and I always keep up with movie advertising, and this is the first time I’ve seen two movies work so well together in order to boost both of their attendances.”

The weekend got off to a hot start with “Barbie” bringing in $22.3 million and “Oppenheimer” snaring $10.5 million in Thursday night preview tickets.

Some 40,000 AMC Theatre loyalty program members have purchased tickets to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” on the same day, and the National Association of Theatre Owners projects more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of the two films.

Many are expected to experience “Barbenheimer” at Premiere 14 Cinema in Rio Rancho, which had large turnouts for early showings of the two movies on Thursday and a big rush early Friday for the first showings of the day for each movie.

“So far, we’ve sold out of most of our ‘Oppenheimer’ showings, and then our primetime ‘Barbie’ showings are doing really well,” Horn said. “We’re expected to do about 200 million this weekend, which is going to be the best weekend of the summer. It’s kind of a nice way to sort of close out the summer. So it’s gonna be crazy busy.”

Will Poole plans to experience “Barbenheimer” Friday at Premiere 14.

“Barbenheimer is an example of our current existential paradigm,” Poole said Thursday. “A desire to get lost in the nostalgic fantasy of a pink and plastic world we grew up in, while knowing, somewhere in the deep recess of our mind, that we must face the ticking time bomb of climate change we’ve set to detonate. Also, Margot Robbie looks amazing. Can’t wait.”