It’s usually hectic at the movies when two major films are released on the same day. In the summer of 2023, this was experienced when two of the most popular films of the year were opening: “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.” Known as “Barbenheimer,” this phenomenon paved the way for films such as the newly-released “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which both debuted in theaters on Nov. 22.
Seeing both films on opening weekend was an experience in which I thought would have the possibility of being similar to Barbenheimer weekend, but it wasn’t quite as chaotic. Glicked (“Gladiator II” and “Wicked”) may not have had as much media popularity as Barbenheimer, but they still brought in a large crowd to theaters.
One OHS student, Zack Koziacki (11), happens to work at a movie theater that was doing their part in getting ready for the big weekend, such as scheduling more workers for opening weekend.
“I’m never scheduled on Thursdays and they scheduled me for this Thursday, and they haven’t scheduled me on a Friday since summer and I’m scheduled Friday this week,” Koziacki said. “I’m literally scheduled every single day of the week for like the next two weeks.”
Even though students such as Koziacki may be involved with these new films outside of school, other students that are involved in extracurriculars at OHS are also impacted in their own way.
Nolan Long (11) was able to experience “Wicked” on Broadway this past year with fellow OHS students who are a part of the OHS choir program. Seeing “Wicked” on Broadway, however, didn’t fully impact his opinion on Glicked.
“I’m more excited for ‘Gladiator II’ because I really like Paul Mescal,” Long said. “He’s in my favorite movie ‘Aftersun.’”
Even though Long may have been more excited about seeing its competitor, seeing “Wicked” on Broadway was still able to influence him in some ways.
“I was listening to the soundtrack today and I was already nitpicking music changes that they made because I thought the music was better,” Long said.
Long isn’t the only OHS student who has seen “Wicked” live. Another student has seen “Wicked” at The Fox and on Broadway, and also saw the movie on opening night.
“…I really like it and I think it’s great. I’ve always liked the music in it, so it was a really nice experience to see it on the big screen,” Anna Rohr (12) said. “It painted the picture even more than what they could do in a normal musical.”
Comparing these films can a hard feat, though, considering they contrast in a multitude of ways. This is why many people went to see these two films on opening weekend, whether that be both films together or just one of them. When it comes to media exposure, though, “Barbenheimer” definitely takes the cake over “Glicked.” However, this may apply to “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” combined, but what about when they are separated outside of the realm of social media slang and memes.
“I think Barbenheimer was bigger because I feel like it just had more natural press associated with it,” Long said. “Barbenheimer was just kind of a natural thing, whereas Glicked kind of popped up two weeks ago.”
