Red States Love 'Barbie'
The interest in Barbie and Oppenheimer is split across political affiliations.
On Monday, Fox News released a map revealing which states are on which team. The map found that Barbie is particularly popular in the red states. Meanwhile, the blue states prefer Oppenheimer.
Take a look:
Via Fox News.
Barbie sure is a hit down South.
Fox News host Kennedy attributes the disparity in interest to the notorious "fun" of the South.
“I think people in the South like to party,” said Kennedy. “And people in the North, you know. They maybe have a little bit of intellectual guilt about the way Western civilization has unfolded.”
Fair.
Also, Mississippians might just really like Margot Robbie.
Either way, the films brought moviegoers back to the theaters at pre-pandemic rates. Both films surpassed expectations over the weekend, rarely the case for films in 2023.
Barbie landed an opening box office of $155 million, the largest of the year. Oppenheimer collected $80.5 million.
The combination fueled the fourth-biggest box office weekend in history.
"Barbenheimer is more than just a meme. It’s a full-fledged box office phenomenon," reports Variety.
“You have something for both types of movie fans,” added Kennedy. “You have a big bubblegum experience where you get to dress up, and then you have something for the intellectual crowd that lets you think and reflect and appreciate history with phenomenal performances, writing, and directing. So it’s rare that all of those things happen at once, but we will take the perfect storm.”
And if Barbie and Oppenheimer are not your type, we recommend Insidious: The Red Door -- the best theater experience of the year.
Have you seen Barbie? What about Oppenheimer?
Comment below along with your current location, that way we know if you are an honest commentator or not.
We plan to dismiss anyone from the North claiming to have chosen Barbie over Oppenheimer, and vice versa.