With Barbie and Oppenheimer hitting theaters this week, some who will be attending the Barbenheimer double feature may want to know the finer details for the optimal viewing experience. We’ve got the entire breakdown for you here, including age ratings, runtimes, review scores, and more.
Age ratings
Barbie is rated PG-13 including for some sexual situations, such as the character getting assaulted by a stranger in public at one point, and reference to a sexual innuendo, according to IMDb. Common Sense Media, which gave the film an 11+ rating, also pointed out that sophisticated themes like feminism and the patriarchy are likely to go over children’s heads, as well.
Oppenheimer is rated R for sex and nudity and frightening and intense scenes, according to IMDb. This includes a “severe” rating for having “a large sense of terror throughout the last half of the movie.” Though there is not yet a Common Sense Media summary of the film, the R rating implies it is not suitable for children under 17.
Runtimes
Oppenheimer boasts an enormous runtime of 3 hours while Barbie clocks in at 1 hour 54 minutes, according to IMDb.
Budgets
According to The Numbers, Oppenheimer’s budget was $180 million and Barbie’s was $100 million.
Review scores
For those hopping on board the Barbenheimer double feature event, you may be relieved to know that both Barbie and Oppenheimer are critically well-received. On Metacritic, both films were described as being universally acclaimed and given the moniker “Metacritic Must-See.” Oppenheimer’s Metacritic score is 90, based on 57 reviews, and Barbie’s score on that same website is 81, based on 54 reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, both films received high scores with a “Certified Fresh” special title. Oppenheimer received a Tomatometer score of 93%, based on 165 reviews while Barbie’s score is 89%, based on 184 reviews.
Main cast
Both Barbie and Oppenheimer have hugely stacked ensemble casts. Barbie’s cast includes Margot Robbie as the titular doll, Ryan Gosling as her boyfriend Ken, and a ton of other actors playing variations of Barbie and Ken. For instance, Kate McKinnon plays Weird Barbie, Issa Rae plays President Barbie, Kingsley Ben-Adir plays Ken #1, Simu Liu plays Ken #2, and John Cena plays Kenmaid. Real-world characters include Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, America Ferrera as a Mattel employee named Gloria who aids Barbie, and Rhea Perlman as Barbie’s creator, Ruth Handler.
Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer. Matt Damon plays Gen. Leslie Groves, the man who recruits Oppenheimer to spearhead the Manhattan Project. The movie also stars Robert Downey Jr. as Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss, Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, and Florence Pugh as Oppenheimer’s mistress, Jean Tatlock.
Writers and directors
Oppenheimer was written and directed by Christopher Nolan and based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. On the other hand, Barbie was written by the film’s director, Greta Gerwig, and her husband, Noah Baumbach. Though Barbie is based on the toy line of the same name, the movie is an original and fictitious story created by the pair.
Stories
Oppenheimer follows the rise of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), who was tasked by Gen. Leslie Groves (Matt Damon) with spearheading a secret laboratory in New Mexico, called the Manhattan Project, in order to beat the Nazis to the punch when it comes to developing an atomic bomb during World War II. It also traces the aftermath of the bomb’s creation, including Oppenheimer being deposed by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) for alleged communist ties.
On the other hand, Barbie is about Margot Robbie’s titular character becoming self-aware in the fantastical Barbieland and going on an adventure with Ryan Gosling’s Ken to go to the real world in order to find out more about herself.
Subject matter
The subject matter of Barbie and Oppenheimer are seemingly total opposites while still having some unexpected commonalities. Barbie is a fictitious work based on the fashion toy line by Mattel whereas Oppenheimer is based on the real-life journey of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his involvement with the creation of the world’s first atomic bomb. However, both films touch upon subjects such as mortality and existentialism, funnily enough.
Genre and tone
While Barbie is described as a “fantasy-comedy” film, according to Variety, Oppenheimer has been given the unusual moniker of “biographical thriller film,” according to Reuters. Suffice it to say, audiences may find the Barbie movie experience more uplifting than Oppenheimer, the latter of which has been described by many who’ve seen it as a heavy watch that may stun you into contemplative silence.
