The 268,390 spectators who saw Barbie on Thursday, the day of its premiere, marked a record in terms of audience in Argentina that was not expected to repeat since the time before the coronavirus pandemic. The film with Margot Robbie and Ryan Reynolds carried, in a single day, more audience than the new Mission: Impossible in 8 days on the billboard.
The film with Tom Cruise was seen by 228,606 viewers since its premiere on Thursday of last week. And this Thursday he was fifth, with his 11,456 tickets sold. Behind Barbiewere Elements, the Pixar film, which is already in its sixth week on the billboard, with 55,872 tickets; third wasOppenheimer, with 34,474, and fourth, The Night of the Devil: The Red Door, thanks to its 19,331 long-suffering viewers.
Margot Robbie is the Stereotypical Barbie. Two out of three viewers decided to see it on Thursday, the day of its premiere. WB Photos
But the phenomenon is that of Barbie, there is no other. Why is pop comedy so successful?
The reasons for a success
On the one hand, the mythical character has a magnet, which summons spectators, women and men, of different ages. Of course, a homogeneous group is made up of boys. And the reason is not only that Greta Gerwig's film, with criticism of patriarchy and some sexual mention, focuses on the doll created by Mattel in the '50s.
No.
Ryan Gosling is the Ken of the Beach, who accompanies Barbie leaving Barbie Land and heading to the real world.
It is that there are almost none, in these holidays for boys, films suitable for all audiences.
Let's see the Top Ten of the most viewed, according to Ultracine. On Thursday, 419,339 spectators went to cinemas throughout the country. 64% chose to watch Barbie. The one that follows Barbie is Elements, which as we said, is already in its sixth week on the billboard.
It also affects that this week is the one that all the provinces share the winter holidays. In CABA and Greater Buenos Aires they have just begun, and continue one more week, but in Córdoba next week the children return to classes, for example.
Ryan Gosling, in a story full of irony and self-criticism, directed by Greta Gerwig.
So if you plan to go to the movies this weekend, arm yourself with patience, and get your tickets as soon as you can, because in several complexes the functions are already sold out. To go with my partner this Saturday, we got the tickets on Thursday of last week. There were two left in a side location, and the rest in the first three rows.
The movie starts when you arrive
When the multiplexes began to multiply, an idea of the programmers of the theaters was that it was necessary to offer the spectator public different schedules, but as far as possible, that there was always a screening of a film within a few minutes that they arrived at the box office.
Fans come to see the film in a cinema in Los Angeles (USA), specially prepared for the occasion. Photo EFE
Yes, that's in the past, now 90% of people buy their tickets online.
But with Barbie, that idea is strictly fulfilled. And we're talking about just one movie.
Take, for example, the Abasto cinema complex. Do you know how many Barbie functions there are per day, between the subtitled copies and in Spanish, in 2D, and in 2D + D-Box?
Margot Robbie, at the European premiere of "Barbie", in London. Photo Reuters
There are 38. They start at 11.35 and even offer four performances at night, the last at 1.10 in the morning! Of the 12 rooms, it occurs in 9, and at least on Thursday in most shared screenings with Elements, Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones or Oppenheimer.
And in the Unicenter shopping the functions are 45.
Good marketing
Since it was announced that, after many comings and goings, the film was finally going to be made with actors, the campaign of Mattel and Warner Bros. began to drill into social networks, the media and with advertising closer to the release date. It is almost impossible that people who have Twitter, Facebook or walk on the street have not been aware of its existence.
The rest of the films on the bill, then, do not have much chance of facing the Barbie hurricane.
Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy, in a scene from "Oppenheimer". The film got off to a very good start with the audience. Photo UIP
Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's three-hour film about the father of the atomic bomb, took 34,474 spectators, but on 185 screens, a third of the rooms that give Barbie (497).
For comparisons, let's look at how other tanks fared in recent and winter vacation times. Exactly one year ago, Minions: A Villain is Born had 134,845 spectators on Thursday (it entered its fourth weekend on the billboard).
A year ago the holiday favorite was "Minions: A Villain Is Born." Photo Clarín File
In 2019, before the pandemic, The Lion King in its live action version premiered with 194,678 tickets, and in more theaters than now Barbie: 542.
However, Barbie does not get to dethrone Toy Story 4, which on Thursday, June 20, 2019 was seen by 454,012 viewers.
The most famous plumber in the world and his animated film. It has already been seen by 2,900,000 viewers. Will "Barbie" pass it?
Fast and Furious 7, on Holy Thursday that premiered, on April 2, 2015, cut 268,840 entries, that is 450 tickets more than Barbie, and in 403 screens.
What there is no doubt about is that Barbie will be at the top when she finishes her time in Argentine cinemas. Will it make it to Super Mario Bros.: The Movie, which was watched by 2,900,916 viewers? A Fast and Furious X (2,297,838), for sure...
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