The cold chill that ran down my spine this morning … Few things in this world have given me the joy that the Oppenheimer vs. Barbie day has. When it was announced that Barbie and Oppenheimer were going to be coming out on the same day, fans were thrilled at the idea of a double feature—mainly because the two of these movies could not be more different from each other, but when you put the Barbie girlies and the Nolan girlies in competition with each other, we’re going to choose to go to both movies. (Because really, I’m not missing either.)
But today, that joy was thrown in turmoil. During a chat with Variety, Cannes Chief Thierry Fremaux talked about movies he didn’t get this year for the Cannes Film Festival, one being Oppenheimer. When asked if there was any chance that they’d add the film to the line-up, Fermaux said, “Unfortunately no, I would have loved [that] but it’s being released at the end of the year as part of their awards strategy. My two regrets this year are Oppenheimer and Barbie, but it won’t be ready either by May.”
This then sent fans into a tizzy—fans meaning me and my group chats and all of Twitter, but still. We were suddenly frantically coming to terms with the idea that we might not have the showdown at the box office we’d been hoping for. Fans flocked to Twitter searching for confirmation while “news” Twitter accounts claimed Fremaux’s statement as proof it was delayed until the end of the year, so what exactly is the truth?
Are we going to have to say goodbye to our dream of a Victor/Victoria costume for fans of both movies? Or did he just mean a later release date than the Cannes Film Festival would provide?
So is the day canceled?
Not as far as we know. The Wrap has reported that an unnamed source “close to the film” told them Oppenheimer would not be delayed, and there’s been no word from the studio that anything has changed, so right now, it seems Fremaux just misspoke and our beloved Barbie and Oppenheimer double feature is set to remain as such. Good! Sorry, but you cannot promise me the greatest moviegoing experience of my entire life for the second time and then take it away. I already lost Keanu Day. I could not lose my two personalities fighting for my affection.
Luckily, the duel to beat all duels (sorry, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr) is still intact. And let’s hope it stays that way, because I truly do think that the only thing keeping us going in this world is knowing that we will get to see Barbie and Oppenheimer back to back on the same day. This is the battle royale we’ve been waiting for, and everyone’s fear that it was over really shows how much we have riding on this.
Personally, I love both of these movies like my children already, but what movie are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments! (There really is no wrong answer.)
(featured image: Warner Bros./Universal)
