Hot Takes

Untangling the ‘Barbenheimer’ Box Office Paradox

ORIGINAL OR UNSURPRISING?

Barbenheads argue that these films—neither sequels nor reboots—deliver the originality moviegoers crave. Is that really why they’re breaking records?

Laura Bradley
Laura Bradley 

Senior Entertainment Reporter

A photo illustration of Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Margot Robbie as Barbie.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Warner Bros/Universal Pictures
Laura Bradley

Laura Bradley

Senior Entertainment Reporter

lurabardley

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