The 2023 phenomenon ‘Barbenheimer’ has been reinvented this year as ‘Glicked’. The term is all over social media, but does it have the same effect as last year’s craze?
Wicked has proved to be incredibly popular, making around $162 million during opening weekend. However, the film has used extensive marketing, spending an estimated $150 million. Gladiator 2 made $55.5 million in its opening weekend. Comparatively, ‘Barbenheimer’ made $235.5 million in its opening weekend.
The term ‘Barbenheimer’ was inescapable, and it held significance. This is largely due to the release day being the same for both films. However, it is also because of the stark contrast between each film. Barbie expressed feminist ideas, that were criticised online by misogynists, yet its popularity was groundbreaking. Oppenheimer was also hugely successful, particularly during awards season. Barbie was a unique idea and people were unaware of what the premise of the film would be due to its ambiguous trailer. Oppenheimer was also a groundbreaking film due to the incredible performances of actors such as Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr.
Whereas Gladiator 2 has shown many similarities to its predecessor and Wicked is a popular musical, so it does not have the element of surprise. Both films are undoubtedly enjoyable and will likely be successful, however they do not have the same groundbreaking nature as ‘Barbenheimer’. Whilst many people have said they will be doing a ‘Glicked’ double bill, the effect is not the same. Most of the Wicked content online has centred around the unusual press tour. A particularly viral moment was the term “holding space” used in an interview.
So, Gladiator 2 and Wicked are of course contrasting films but perhaps because it has been done before, it hasn’t been the same cultural phenomenon that ‘Barbenheimer’ was.