#10: Are You Still Watching? Barbenheimer Report 💅💣

In The Mood's editors report on the hot gossip, outfits, and takes from the opening weekend of Barbie and Oppenheimer

I look like two kids in a trench coat… “one ticket to Oppenheimer, please!”

In this exclusive newsletter feature, In The Mood’s editors Gabrielle Marceau and Sennah Yee report from the frontlines of Barbenheimer’s opening weekend…

What order did you choose to see the films and why?

Gabrielle: I planned on seeing the two films on the same day, to get the real Barbeheimer Experience, but I was assigned to review Oppenheimer so I saw it on Wednesday evening and Barbie the next night with friends.

Sennah: My friends and I did Oppenheimer, then Barbie. I almost wanted the opposite order, purely because Barbie comes first in “Barbenheimer,” but Gabrielle advised ending on a more cheerful note, which I’m VERY glad I did haha.

Where and when did you see the films? What was the attendance like?

S: I felt like a spy with multiple tabs open on double monitors at my desk, trying to coordinate the cinemas, showtimes, runtimes, and break times. I saw both films at the Scotiabank Theater downtown on opening Friday night—Oppenheimer in IMAX at 6:00pm, then Barbie at 9:40pm. Both screenings sold out in advance, with people even in the very front neck-breaking first rows! You could tell instantly who was doing the Barbenheimer double bill based on their outfits.

G: I saw Oppenheimer at the Varsity, the cinema where they play the 70mm auteur films. The last film I saw there was Tár, and the speakers blew out at the loud parts so there was this horrible crackle during the orchestra scenes, so I was worried all the explosions would sound like shit. It was PACKED. Things started to go south when a young woman announced that the film would pay on a DCP (a tweet claimed that the 70mm print was lost in the mail!) A family sat next to me and I was already nervous about how their 6-year-old kid would fare with a 3-hour movie about talking. About 5 minutes in, he whispers to his mom: “Is this what the whole movie is like?” Then he farted twice.

I saw Barbie at the Yonge and Dundas Cineplex, which is in a weird mall downtown. The crowd was mostly young people, some girls and their patient or bemused boyfriends. The room was BUZZING with anticipation. But it did not feel like a normal movie-going crowd. Two girls in front of me kept taking selfies and posting/watching Instagram stories during the movie lol.

What outfit did you wear?