The internet and mass marketing campaigns declared this past weekend an event: "Barbeheimer.” It was the hottest box-office selling weekend since before the pandemic for the motion picture industry, and not the result of one hot hit, but of an unlikely movie duo. A reimagining of the iconic blonde doll “Barbie,” and a broody Christopher Nolan film about the creation of the atomic bomb.
Hot pink became trendy again, people debated which movie to see first, and they made sure to have tickets pre-purchased. The day before the premiere, Bethel’s Suurvik theater announced that they would be showing “Barbie” on the opening weekend.
Movie tickets are only sold at the door. Ten minutes before the first viewing, 13 customers stood in line. For many viewers, part of the Barbie-going experience was choosing an outfit and joining the movie-going-mania. In Bethel, nobody wore the characteristic pink garb. Customers waited quietly for tickets and popcorn. Still, the theater knew the town was keen.
“On Facebook, this movie got a lot of responses,” said Natalie Mikesell, the director of secondary education for the school district. “So we saw a lot of likes, and people tagging other people and saying, 'Hey, we should go at this time or this day.'”
Mikesell is manning the cash register and concessions because the movie theater is at the school. As a school official, she stepped in while the theater manager is on bereavement leave.
“We're pretty limited, especially during the school year when the rest of the building is actually a school,” Mikesell said.
It’s the town’s only theater, and during the year it’s been acting as an elementary school after the local immersion school burned down. The theater has two screens, which show two movies over the weekends.
Mikesell explained that getting movies upon release isn’t something residents assume will happen. Sometimes the theater has had to cancel screenings at the last minute when shipments haven’t arrived. Getting movies to the screen relies on getting both a hardcopy of the film and a digital key before showtime.
“All of the companies are located downstates, and so they ship things two-day air. And they think ‘Hey, it's two-day, it won't be a problem to get to you,” said Mikesell. “And we've told them many, many times that two-day air doesn't mean anything to us. But they, they just, it's big name. You know, it's Paramount. It's Universal. It's the big companies downstates that distribute the movies. And they do it on their schedule, not ours.”
Suurvik had ordered both movies, but were still unsure what the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon would mean for them.
“So it was kind of rushed,” Mikesell said. “And we weren't sure that the movie would come in time with the runway work that they're doing at the airport. A lot of cargo keeps getting delayed. And if we don't get the movie in time to run it, and they call it ‘digest it’ on the theater servers, then we can't play them in time.”
Many had played with Barbies themselves. Fans, like Ariel Andrew and Charly Myers, were happy to get to see the colorful feminist comedy.
“Growing up with friends playing Barbies, I always wished we had a movie to watch Barbies,” said Myers. “And it finally came up. I love the Kens. The Kens and one Alan.”
They laughed. “Poor Alan,” they said.
“I had a weird Barbie. I think we all had a weird Barbie," said Andrew. “We all had a weird Barbie. One weird Barbie and one really perfect one,” added Myers.
Others, like City of Bethel Grant Manager John Sargent, were following the buzz.
“I bought Mattel stock on the hype, and I'm hoping the stock goes up, so I'm contributing to my own stock increase by going to the movie,” said Sargent. He said he was also excited to see the film.
Nobody seemed too bothered that “Oppenheimer” wasn’t on just yet. They were hoping it would be on for this upcoming weekend, but the schedule was released with “Barbie” and “Mission Impossible” again. While other theaters bolstered sales by having “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” as a pair, people said that not doing so might be better for Bethel.
“That way, people don't have to make a decision between the two in one weekend,” said Mikesell. “Because, you know, going to the movies is a special treat for a lot of families.”
People in Bethel are used to it.
“We'll get it,” said Sargent. “If we don't get it, I’ll see “Oppenheimer” sometime. You know, when it comes on stream.”
But they were happy Bethel got to be part of the “Barbie” buzz.
