The cult of Barbenheimer: In the pursuit of saving cinema, did we all lose our minds?

Throw on your pink sunglasses and take cover because the Barbenheimer countdown has officially reached zero.With Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer finally opening today (July 21), the continued plea to save cinema (Tom Cruise, we’re looking at you) appears to be on the verge of success, turning casual film followers into pink stans and history buffs and convincing thousands of movie-goers to stream into national chains for a 5-hour-long double feature. Variety reported that 40,000 people purchased tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day in AMC Theaters, as of four days before the films’ release. The two seemingly dichotomous films have engendered one of the most intense online reactions in recent memory, earning the attention and investment of brands, an entire library of niche memes, and even a new pop culture vocabulary. But what is it about these two films — and the notoriously fickle social media environment — that led us here? Mashable tech reporter Elena Cavender and Mashable social good reporter Chase DiBenedetto discuss how the successful, year-long promotional run of the two films — heavily carried by the pink-hued, brand-centric Barbie — resulted from new ways of engaging with entertainment industry news. SEE ALSO: Breaking Mashable report: An evidence-based ranking of Ryan Gosling’s most Kenergetic quotes The update account as cult leaderElena: In order to discuss the Barbenheimer phenomenon we have to get into the bizarre entertainment news landscape that led to its creation. In 2020, there was a proliferation of entertainment news update accounts…The cult of Barbenheimer: In the pursuit of saving cinema, did we all lose our minds?