Where does 'Barbenheimer' leave cinema in future media plans?

Audiences have been slowly returning to cinema since the pandemic, but last week’s Barbie and Oppenheimer double-bill could push cinema right to the top of advertisers’ media plans.

Earlier this month, Digital Cinema Media chief Karen Stacey admitted that cinema is often thought of as the medium that gives advertisers “incremental cover”. She asked advertisers to instead start thinking of cinema as a “start-up medium”.

"Barbenheimer" might have been the event to change advertisers’ outlooks. Last weekend, UK cinema opened to £35.7m, largely driven by Barbie (£18.5m) and Oppenheimer (£10.9m).

Months in advance, the Gold, Silver and Bronze spots were sold out for both films. In DCM cinemas, Dyson nabbed the Gold spot before Barbie, with Levi's and Google Pixel grabbing Silver and Bronze. For Oppenheimer, Samsung took the prime position, while Sky Glass and Peugeot grabbed the two prime spots before.

And media buyers have noticed.

Daniel Trout, media director AV at Wavemaker UK, said: “I think 'Barbenheimer' is simply highlighting to the media world how important cinema is to a media plan.”

He added brands that invest regularly in cinema will not be surprised but for, the majority, it will provide a foundation for “growth going forward”.

However, others were more measured in their approach.

Nicola Teague, head of AV at The7stars, said audiences have been “steadily” returning to cinema anyway.

She added: “I don't think we’ll see many more weekends like this. I think it’s kind of a bit of a one-off that will ultimately give cinema a boost for the films that are out this year.”

Teague did echo Trout’s point that it will remind advertisers of the value of cinema and add more value to it going forward.

“I think we might see higher admissions because I think it's created that feeling of going to the cinema with friends and creating that kind of talkability. So I think it could actually result in more value in cinema.”

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, an AppleTV+ film, will also debut this year, and Teague thinks this weekend could see streaming services change the way they release their content. Streamers like Netflix, she says, have been reminded of the power “cinema can have on society” and may release more of their films in cinemas.

It is an outlook reinforced by the latest Warc report, which projected that cinema will record a 20.8% year-on-year growth in 2023.

Another media buyer saw an increased importance placed on cinema going forward.

Not only has cinema suffered throughout the pandemic but it has also received negative press, with Empire Cinemas and Cineworld going into administration.

Now advertisers are getting an “absolute bargain” with the prices for Barbie and Oppenheimer, they said, adding: “Advertisers who have perhaps been a bit slower to return to the medium, it will ignite the fire to come back to the medium a bit quicker than than they previously anticipated.”