JACKSON, Wyo. — The cinematic event of the summer is finally here: “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” two of this year’s biggest blockbusters, will debut on Friday, July 21.
The internet is awash in jokes about “Barbenheimer,” a portmanteau of the two titles. But has this phenomenon reached Jackson Hole? With only one movie theater left in town, summer’s biggest double-header finds its nexus at Jackson’s MovieWorks Cinema.
Meg Reeder, MovieWorks Cinema’s manager, says she’s seen about triple the interest in “Barbie” as “Oppenheimer.”
“This summer, we have a lot of movies. It’s almost too many,” Reeder said. “But it’s a good problem to have.”
In addition to the “Barbenheimer” combo, MovieWorks audiences have had new “Indiana Jones,” “Mission Impossible,” “Fast and the Furious” and “Spider-Verse” installments to choose from, plus other offerings from Disney, Pixar, DC and more.
This year’s stacked new release schedule suggests a potential return to pre-pandemic ticket sales. Like many cinemas, surviving COVID-19 posed huge challenges for MovieWorks.
“It’s a miracle this place is still here,” Reeder said. “It was pretty dismal for a while.”
Luckily, last summer’s box office juggernaut “Top Gun: Maverick” brought some zest back to MovieWorks’ ticket sales, affirming that the local market will turn out for splashy studio fare.
“Audience feedback is in the form of ticket sales,” Reeder said. “If they buy tickets to a movie, that’s a lot of feedback. If they’re not buying tickets to it, that’s also feedback.”
As far as the “Barbenheimer” showdown goes, MovieWorks is expecting a busy weekend.
“We have strong pre-sales for both, but especially ‘Barbie,’” Reeder said.
At the time of the interview, Reeder said that the Friday 8 p.m. “Barbie” show is sold out and the Friday 7:15 p.m. show is currently three seats shy of selling out.
“It will be easier to pack people into ‘Barbie’ because it’s under two hours and an all-ages audience,” Reeder added. “‘Oppenheimer’ also has strong pre-sales but I expect that crowd to be more discerning and less willing to view from the front row.”
When asked which movie she’s more excited to see, Reeder said, “I’ll probably pick ‘Barbie’ first just because it’s light comedy and it’s easier. We’ll see. They both look really good but different.”
