2023-08-02 12:06:11
In front of the Grand Rex in Paris, despite the rain falling at the end of July, the line of spectators eager to see Oppenheimer, by Christopher Nolan, extends over several tens of meters and continues to grow.
The most enthusiastic arrived almost an hour early to be sure of being well placed, while the latecomers hurried to join the queue. It is soon the turn of Rebecca, a Dutch tourist, to cross the gate: “I’ve already seen the film but I’m coming to see it again here to live a cinematic experience! », she confides. Tom, who is only passing through in Paris, came on his side to discover the film in 70 mm format, as it was shot by the filmmaker. “Discovering the Grand Rex, its great hall, and seeing the film in these conditions is incomparable for me”, he explains.
Counter-programming logic
Since their July 19 release, Christopher Nolan’s hit biopic that looks back at the development of the first atomic bomb, and Barbie, by Greta Gerwig, broke all attendance records. With an advantage for the colorful universe of the fashion doll which garnered 2.6 million admissions in just twelve days whileOppenheimer ranks second in the French box office, with nearly 1.9 million admissions.
Two films, however, at odds with each other in their history, their universe or the target audience, but whose simultaneous and highly anticipated release has aroused the enthusiasm of audiences all over the world. The two films were immediately placed at the top of the rankings in many countries, particularly in the United States, where the first weekend of exhibition constitutes the 4th best score in history. Greta Gerwig’s film alone has already grossed $800 million worldwide.
This logic of “counter-programming” – releasing two completely different films at the same time so that the public did not have to choose – created a phenomenon called “Barbenheimer” which flourished on social networks: posters, original trailers combining the two stories, derivative products and even a Wikipedia file have been created by Internet users. In any case, it gave a smile to the operators of cinemas who had not experienced such a crowd since the Covid epidemic in 2020.
A success that is all the more striking, as it does not come from Marvel-type blockbusters but from more classic films, signed by directors with a very personal universe. Director Francis Ford Coppola himself was delighted with this success: “The fact that people are filling big rooms to go see them, and that they are neither sequels nor prequels but works in their own right, it is a victory for cinema “, affirmed the author of the Godfather.
French films are not left out
For the National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF), this is a sign that the public is at the rendezvous when theaters program blockbuster films. Behind Barbie et Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible : Dead Reckoning, partie 1 with Tom Cruise and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinywith Harrison Ford, but also Elementarythe latest production from Pixar studios, are also doing well.
The impact on attendance is significant since it reached 18.38 million, up more than 33% compared to 2022, according to the CNC. It is even 10% higher than the averages for the month of July before the Covid epidemic. ” The more the public returns to theaters, the more they come back “, rejoices Erwan Escoubet, of the FNCF who has the hope of seeing the attendance of cinemas “ return by the end of the year to its pre-containment level ».
In a summer marked by the performance of American blockbusters, whose programming had been interrupted by the pandemic, Erwan Escoubet underlines that French films are not left out. Of the 27 films that have made more than one million admissions since the start of the year, eight are French productions according to French Film. « Sif the public seems to be back in the halls, continues Erwan Escoubetit’s not just for going to see entertainment films, as shown for example by the recent success of a political thriller such as Green Algaeby Pierre Jolivet ».
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