Barbenheimer has been the phenomenon of the summer season, with both Barbie and Oppenheimer earning critical acclaim and dominating the box office. While Barbie’s commercial performance surpasses what Oppenheimer’s, joining The Super Mario Bros. Movie in crossing the $1 billion mark this year, one edge Christopher Nolan’s flick has had over Greta Gerwig’s fourth directorial feature is that it’s also playing on IMAX screens. However, there’s good news for the Barbie fans out there: not only is the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-led movie getting a limited IMAX engagement, it’ll come with bonus footage attached.
Starting on Friday, September 22, Barbie will play for one week on IMAX screens in select locations around the world. If the opportunity to see the movie in its original form on a much bigger screen isn’t an enticing enough offer, perhaps catching the post-credits footage will strike your fancy, although it’s unclear exactly what exactly will be presented. Here’s what Greta Gerwig said about Barbie’s IMAX run in an official statement (via Deadline):
The worldwide enthusiasm for Barbie has been overwhelming, humbling and deeply moving. So many Barbie fans went on this journey with us, and we can’t thank them enough for supporting the film and sharing their Barbie experience in theaters, across social media and out in the world. We made Barbie for the big screen, so it’s a thrill to be able to bring it to Imax, the biggest screen of all. And as a special thanks to Barbie fans, we’re excited to share a little bit more of our cast and crew’s incredible work by adding special new footage we hope audiences will enjoy.
“Special new footage” could mean anything from a handful of deleted scenes to various outtakes to maybe even behind-the-scenes looks. Regardless, given how successful has Barbie has been, it’s a good bet that a decent amount of people will be game to take in this cinematic spectacle in an IMAX format, most of whom will likely have already seen it at least once. This IMAX engagement kicks off on the same day as as Expend4bles comes out, so it’ll be interesting to see how this notable Barbie rerelease does opening opposite to a blockbuster action romp that’s fresh entertainment for the public.
In addition to the $1 billion milestone mentioned earlier, Barbie also recently became Warner Bros. Pictures’ highest-grossing domestic release, surpassing The Dark Knight. Presumably this IMAX run will be the movie’s last theatrical hurrah, which will then lead to its home release and being made available to stream with a Max subscription. As for those wondering if Barbie’s box office success will lead to a sequel being made, per Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig have reportedly not signed deals to return for Barbie 2, leaving the prospects of such a project in question.
While we count down the weeks until Barbie’s IMAX release, feel free to read about the “weirdest fan theory” Robbie’s heard about the movie, or Gerwig talking about some of the jokes she can’t believe made the final cut. Otherwise, look through our 2023 release schedule to learn when this year’s remaining movies will arrive.
