The ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Exit Survey

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The most important movie weekend in a long time finally came and went. It’s time to dig into the grand occasion that was ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’

After months of hype and hundreds (thousands?) of memes, Barbenheimer finally arrived. Did the spectacle live up to the hype? Who was the MVP of the entire weekend? And, of course, which movie was actually better? The Ringer staff has thoughts on all of that, and more.

Jomi Adeniran: Cinema.

Riley McAtee: Seeing Barbie in a packed theater with an audience decked out in all pink was special. Movies are back!

Kai Grady: Barbie is a pure joy from start to finish. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling gave Oscar-worthy performances that are both laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely moving. The immaculate production and costume design of Barbie Land (and Kendom) are striking and a sight to behold. Greta Gerwig is three for three.

Kat Spillane: Barbie, a movie designed to show that even Margot Robbie can have an existential crisis while listening to the Indigo Girls. Stars, they’re just like us.

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Arjuna Ramgopal: Barbie is a rare IP movie that is fun and touching, even if it just misses out on being one of the year’s best.

Austin Gayle: It’s two perfect performances from Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. It’s also a pink Mattel™ teeter-totter rocking back and forth between clever, campy funny and too-stupid-for-me funny. But because they (very ambitiously) try to make it so much more than a toy commercial, Gerwig and Noah Baumbach overstuff the script at times.

Spillane: I would watch six-plus hours of Cillian Murphy tastefully smoking cigarettes on 70-mm IMAX. Oh, and it’s hard to be a brilliant man talking in rooms with other brilliant men.

Adeniran: MF-ING CINEMA.

Ramgopal: A return to form for Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer is a tour de force of performances, even if the third act is a bit forced.

McAtee: Nolan is incapable of getting out of his own way. Oppenheimer was technically impressive and stylistically engaging, but it proceeded at such an astounding pace that there was no time to connect with any of the characters. That’s a pretty big problem for a movie that is essentially a character study!

Gayle: The first two hours of the movie strap you into a race-ready Bugatti with Murphy at the wheel and an atom bomb on the pedal. It’s wholly stunning, captivating, astonishing. But Nolan feathers the brakes a bit after the remarkable, horrifying Oppenheimer speech at the top of the third act; there’s no need to bring the sheets in for the final 45 minutes.

Grady: Oppenheimer is a breathtaking cinematic feat that is arguably Nolan’s most astounding work yet. Whether it was the haunting stare of Murphy’s piercing blue eyes or the gargantuan atomic explosion, so many visuals still remain etched in my brain.

McAtee: For Barbie, it’s the ending. That got an enormous laugh at the theater I attended—talk about sticking the landing. For Oppenheimer, it’s the rally after the bombs have been dropped. Nolan’s choices there created a wickedly haunted moment of “triumph.”

Gayle: Gosling doesn’t miss once, but his “I’m Just Ken” song is a true standout performance. So is his initial spat with Barbie when he’s holding court with the boys at the Mojo Dojo Casa House. Also, his acoustic guitar performance. OK, maybe I can’t choose.

Both the Trinity test scene and the final scene with Einstein are fair choices for best moment in Oppenheimer, but the right choice is Oppenheimer’s hollow speech in the bleachers. The sound design and cinematography feel new and sublime. They create a perfectly terrifying experience that you can’t look away from.

Ramgopal: Barbie had so many moments that had my entire theater in stitches, but Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” has been living rent-free in my head for days. The song, the choreography, the performance—everything about it worked for me.

How can you not say the bomb blowing up for Oppenheimer? The scene they absolutely had to nail, they did.

Adeniran: In Oppenheimer, it’s easily the silence of watching the “gadget” explode and then the crazy sound of the shock wave hitting us as it hits the scientists. That’s an incredible feeling that won’t be replicated in theaters anytime soon.

For Barbie, the “I’m Just Ken” dance routine had my theater in tears. We also watched the film at the AMC in Century City, so all the Century City jokes landed very hard.

Spillane: When the Kens acoustically performed “Push” by Matchbox Twenty, my soul left my body. Statistically speaking, a majority of women have had to suffer through a man playing the guitar to them, usually while talking about Lindsey Buckingham. I also can’t stop thinking about Emily Blunt’s cross-examination scene in Oppenheimer. I kept waiting for her moment all movie, and to see her dunk on Jason Clarke was well worth the two and a half hours that came before it.

Grady: I adored the quiet scene on the bench shortly after Barbie made it to the real world for the first time. The camera cuts to her POV as she takes a second to observe all the beautiful chaos that surrounds her—the sound of birds chirping, wind rustling the trees, an arguing couple, a man during a lonely moment of stress, and, of course, the sweet old woman who smiles at her.

In Oppenheimer, it was the moment between Oppenheimer and military intelligence officer Boris Pash (played by a menacing Casey Affleck) when Pash was conducting an off-the-books interrogation regarding the scientist’s ties to communism. What was probably a five- to 10-minute scene felt like an eternity because of how palpable the tension was. I was on pins and needles.

Adeniran: The scene with Blunt, Murphy, and Florence Pugh during the hearing (you know the one) was a tad too much in Oppenheimer. In Barbie, the white void section at the end went on a little too long.

Grady: I didn’t love the slapstick chase scene at the Mattel HQ in the second act of Barbie. It was fun for a couple of minutes, but it overstayed its welcome and got stale pretty quickly.

As for Oppenheimer, the tail end of the film, during the security proceedings against Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss’s confirmation hearing, was probably the least interesting part of the film for me. That said, there were some dynamite conversations between Robert Downey Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich that made the in-between moments worth it.

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Gayle: I audibly laughed in the theater when Albert Einstein was randomly behind that car in the third act. Was he hiding there? Did he jump off the side of the car as it started moving? Is Einstein Batman? Is this a prequel to The Prestige? (Second place is any scene with Josh Peck’s face.)

Also, I know this is going to make people upset. And I’m sorry in advance. I truly am. But I haven’t laughed at a Will Ferrell scene in over a decade. He’s still throwing the same fastball that made him a comedic icon, but that pitch is crossing the plate at 69 mph. He just doesn’t have the gas anymore. Plus, the scene in which Ferrell and the executives chase Barbie at the Mattel™ headquarters in a maze pattern and then can’t get through the entrance was heinous. Who is laughing at that? The children that didn’t laugh at the repeated “beach you off” jokes in the first 20 minutes of the movie?

McAtee: In Oppenheimer, it’s the sex scene/fever dream during Oppenheimer’s security hearing. The theater I attended burst into laughter at this scene—sometimes I think Nolan just doesn’t understand subtlety. Or emotions. Or humans in general. You’d think he’d try harder to correct his reputation for terribly written female characters, but Jean Tatlock (Pugh) was probably one of his most underserved women ever. It’s embarrassing.

In Barbie ... why was Allan in this movie? Why did he get a fight scene?? This is the only bit of fat I’d cut.

Spillane: The Chevrolet product placement car chase in Barbie … I think there was already enough product placement at that point, no? And then whatever the heck was happening with Cillian and Florence in THAT scene in the hearing room. We all know what I’m talking about.

Grady: Easy. For self-explanatory reasons, I would put America Ferrera into Oppenheimer so that she could give her showstopping Barbie monologue to the women in Oppie’s life. On the other side, I would take Tom Conti’s portrayal of Albert Einstein and drop him into Barbie Land to advise Ken on the global ramifications of installing patriarchy.

Spillane: Mattel CEO Ferrell would have been a great addition to the Senate committee overseeing Strauss’s cabinet appointment. I would have loved to see him pop up as the senator from the great state of Illinois, with his passion for capitalism and “boys will be boys” ethos. Also, Josh Hartnett, a.k.a. Dr. Ernest Lawrence, as Ken? Need I say more? Hartnett is back, and he’s the original Ken.

McAtee: Let’s find Ehrenreich a role in Barbie—he was great in his limited Oppenheimer screen time. Meanwhile, Emma Mackey’s Physicist Barbie is the obvious pick to enter Oppenheimer. Maybe we can give her a scene with Olivia Thirlby’s Lilli Hornig and Nolan can pass the Bechdel test for the first time ever.

Adeniran: We’re doing a “like for like” swap. We’re trading Michael Cera (and a couple of first-round picks) for Murphy. Think about how funny that would be. Murphy could absolutely play Allan with real conviction, but imagine Cera trying to explain quantum theory, talk communism, and chat up Blunt.

Gayle: Keep Robbie and Gosling in Barbie, please. Murphy is no Ken, and Blunt is above Barbie Land. I do think Pugh would have crushed as Weird Barbie, but Kate McKinnon was hysterical. Casting Ferrell as Einstein would have been a good way to clear the theater, but I don’t think that’s the intention of the question.

Make Peck a Ken (or a second Allan) to keep him as far away from the Manhattan Project as possible. Throw Rami Malek into Barbie Land as well, just so he gets more screen time. Then cast Ferrera in Oppenheimer and have her rip that same monologue in Nolan’s ear off set to see whether his head explodes.

Ramgopal: Can you imagine Ken learning about patriarchy from our motley crew of Americans when the atomic bomb was being built in the ’40s?!

Dropping Downey’s Strauss, and all of his insecurities, into Barbie Land, where he’d be treated as a Ken, would make for some extremely moody RDJ.

Ramgopal: The scene was amazing. When the sound wave actually hit, I thought I was having a heart attack. No notes.

Gayle: The sound design is just so, so impressive. Composer Ludwig Goransson is so deep in his bag the whole film, but the entire sound department really nailed it with the Trinity scene. To captivate an audience that effectively in a situation where the end result is clearly known is a stunning feat.

McAtee: Nolan did an excellent job of building up the tension for the Trinity test, which is a difficult feat given that the audience obviously knows the test will work. But the actual explosion itself I found a bit underwhelming. David Lynch did it better.

Spillane: Nolan somehow managed to create so much tension and suspense around something we already knew happened. I was gripping the seat waiting for the sound to be overpowering, so to watch it initially happen in silence really packed a punch. I found it forced the audience to confront the horror of what was unfolding.

Adeniran: One of the most impressive pieces of cinema we’ve ever seen. The tension is palpable as the team is getting ready for the test, and even though history tells us that everything will go as planned, I was still nervous. I won’t soon forget watching in awe as the bomb went off and then hearing the delayed boom in the IMAX theater.

Grady: To describe what I was feeling as “anxiety” doesn’t do it justice. I hate to be that guy, but I had the pleasure of seeing this on IMAX 70 mm, and I cannot emphasize enough how well it captured the immense magnitude of the Trinity test. My heart was beating out of my chest, and my palms were sweating profusely leading up to the detonation. In the immediate aftermath, the silence was deafening and the delayed sound of the explosion was akin to a well-executed jump scare in a horror movie.

Gayle: Gosling was sensational. It’s the second-best performance of the movie only because Robbie is an absolute superstar, and it’s arguably Gosling’s top comedy performance as an actor. Ken isn’t funny at all if Gosling isn’t at the center of it.

McAtee: Ryan was more than Kenough.

Spillane: Give him the Oscar. This is Gosling’s best performance to date. He has to pull off being earnest, delusional, hilarious, and heartbreaking all while painted in the greatest spray tan I have ever seen. (I need a referral for whoever did this.) He’s committed to the bit and never breaks. I am a truther when it comes to Crazy, Stupid, Love, but this is my new Gosling apex mountain. I could watch him get repeatedly rejected by Margot Robbie for hours.

Grady: Ken being the surprise antagonist of Barbie was NOT what I saw coming, but I loved the heel turn. I think his arc was the most interesting of the film, and Gosling—who is without a doubt one of the best comedic actors of his generation—turns in a layered performance that he was born to give.

Ramgopal: While I enjoyed Gosling’s performance and his memorable bits, I actually thought he was in too much of the movie. He felt more like a lead than a supporting character. I came to see Barbie and got more Kenergy than I bargained for.

Adeniran: I would just like to say I knew Ryan Gosling had this in him the entire time.

Ryan Gosling is funny and I propose we let him be funny in more things

Everyone came for Barbie but left the movie going, “Oh my God, how good was Ryan Gosling?” In a film that literally makes fun of him for being a useless side character, he makes the movie his own. Every single joke landed. No matter how bad my life could get in the future, I’m going to be just fine knowing that I am Kenough.

Spillane: Warner Bros. marketing department. Everyone deserves a raise. And a vacation.

Gayle: Us! We had fun at the movies again.

Runner-up is depression, self-loathing, and existential dread. Can’t have relatable themes without those! And third place is Nolan. Give him more biopics. No more time travel and mythical space bookshelves. Give him a closed environment with clear rules and let him cook.

Adeniran: Murphy and Downey are going to win Oscars next year, but Gosling will be the people’s champ. Ken is the breakout character of Barbenheimer weekend. I can’t wait to watch the Ken show on Max in fall 2025.

McAtee: Barbie’s prop department. The horse-themed lamp shades had me rolling.

Grady: This is a cheesy answer, but it has to be the audience, right? Cinephiles and non-cinephiles alike came together to turn the “Barbenheimer” meme into a record-breaking weekend at the box office. Whether this is a good sign for the health of the theatrical experience moving forward or the last hurrah of a somewhat bygone era, this weekend was a shared moment of film celebration for so many of us. Also, Cera as Allan was pretty amazing.

Ramgopal: I’m going to go with Kingsley Ben-Adir. He was fantastic in Barbie, and he’s absolutely blowing up right now with Secret Invasion and his upcoming star turn in Bob Marley: One Love. Ben-Adir’s already worked with Nolan’s bestie, Murphy (shout-out Peaky Blinders), so would it shock anyone if he’s a future Nolan star as well?

Grady: Oppenheimer wins by a single Letterboxd star, but both are incredible in their own right. Although I really enjoyed Barbie, I think at the end of the day the capitalistic intentions of its corporate overlords had more influence on the film than I would have liked.

McAtee: Barbie is a comedy about plastic dolls, and yet there is far more humanity in that film than in Oppenheimer. This one isn’t close.

Adeniran: I’ve got Oppenheimer, but only by a smidge. Barbie surprised me by how fun, zany, sentimental, and relevant it was despite being based on a doll from the ’50s. That being said, between the performances in Oppenheimer with Murphy, Downey, Blunt, Matt Damon, Pugh, Ehrenreich, Benny Safdie, Clarke, and many more (I mean, what a freaking cast, man!), and the tension expertly woven throughout the film, I gotta rock with Oppie.

Ramgopal: Can’t go wrong with either movie, but I’ll give the slight edge to Oppenheimer. But go see both!

Spillane: If the metric is: that was cinema, but I will likely never watch it again, then Oppenheimer. The film is a singular achievement. I had to get a beer and stare off into the distance for a couple of hours after watching it. But if we’re talking about a movie that, although not without flaws, somehow managed to make me cry with laughter and weirdly see myself on-screen a lot more than I expected for a story about a toy? Barbie all the way. I think it will be in the zeitgeist for a long time. I quoted it all weekend and referenced it a not-insignificant amount in casual conversation (apologies to friends and family).

Gayle: I left Oppenheimer plotting out time in my weekend to go back to the theater to watch the entire movie again. It’s my favorite Nolan film, and I know it’ll only get better with rewatches. It’s a better movie.

I’ll probably fire up the “I’m Just Ken” song on Spotify or search YouTube for Barbie’s opening scene, but I don’t think I need to relive the bad jokes, the Chevy ad, and the jarring tone shifts again. I’d rather rewatch Gerwig’s brilliant Lady Bird or Little Women; they don’t include commercials.

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