‘Barbenheimer’ Has an Interesting VOD Flip

 Barbie and Oppenheimer. The stellar duo, accidentally paired in the public consciousness as they became, will be one of the most iconic film memories of 2023. While Barbie was the ultimate box office victor, it seems Oppenheimer is set to win the premier weekend VOD battle. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., unpacks the startling reversal.


Brandon Blake

A Great VOD Opening

It’s hardly like Barbie was a slacker in the fight, pulling in 363,000 households in viewership from opted-in Smart TVs tracked by Samba TV. But Oppenheimer managed to pip that with a seriously impressive 388,000. Samba TV’s viewership data uses a proprietary content recognition technology allowing ‘opt-in’ partnerships with cable TV providers.

 

Some of this may come down to pricing. Oppenheimer launched at an already reasonably steep $19.99, whereas Barbie opted for $24.99 for rentals or a purchase price of $29.99. Oddly, the demographic crown went to the millennial market, with over-indexing of 15% and 11% respectively in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups. That said, the 18-24s were well represented at 32% of viewers.

Two Grand Titles

While the oddity that was the ‘Barbenheimer’ marketing moment may urge us to pit these two against each other forevermore, at the end of the day we’re looking at two immensely successful titles with a massive market pull that both deserve recognition as two key players on this year’s movie scene. Unexpectedly, as it turns out. One is a nostalgia-powered and ultra-pink fun dive into a cultural phenomenon expected to only pull in female demographics. The other is a three-hour epic historical drama covering a niche subject. Would anyone have picked either out of the lineup as this year’s top performers, with the (once guaranteed hits) from Marvel cluttering the pipeline?

 

Yet here we are. Barbie is the top-grossing picture for 2023, while Oppenheimer is sitting snugly in third. Both are being heavily pushed for awards recognition, too. Perhaps the real lesson here isn’t about figures and takings, but the massive global response to fresh, new, and innovative stories and the turn away from the ‘safe’ franchise offerings that characterized the initial pandemic recovery.

 

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