two very different films, barbie and oppenheimer, opening at the same time. i think the early barbenheimer effect was because the well—known ip of barbie plus the well known ip of christopher nolan were put together in a way that really sparked the imagination. barbie also distinguished itself in that it is a film defined by a director's artistic vision that succeeded in reaching a mass audience, quite different from the typical, often tired, lacklustre hollywood blockbusters we have grown accustomed to. it really put the filmmaker, greta gerwig, on the map. greta gerwig is now absolutely a a—list director. she started off at a very very small micro—budget movies, and worked her way up, as both actor and director, to this level, so this is somebody who is using this is—odd years of understanding of filmmaking and storytelling, you see that reflected in the film.