8 Times Two Blockbuster Films Were Released On The Same Day

Last year, many people across the world had this day (July 21st) circled on their calendars. Not one but two blockbusters were released on this date. Leading up to them coming out, fans worldwide patiently waited to hit the theaters to check them out. The hype behind both Barbie and Oppenheimer were through the roof. It was very difficult to be on social media and not see something related to the films. All the excitement led to big box office returns for both (Barbie’s current worldwide total is $1.446 billion; Oppenheimer’s current worldwide total is $976.1 million). If you’ve been under a rock, here’s a synopsis of the two movies. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is an IMAX-shot epic thriller that thrusted audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it. The film stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist credited with being the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project—the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. The film also stars Emily Blunt, Oscar winner Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Academy Award nominee Florence Pugh and Oscar winner Rami Malek. Barbie is a fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach. Based on the Barbie fashion dolls by Mattel, it is the first live-action Barbie film after numerous computer-animated direct-to-video and streaming television films. The film stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, who go on a journey of self-discovery after their expulsion from Barbieland. Robbie and Gosling are joined by a large ensemble cast that includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Helen Mirren and Will Ferrell.

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Although the films are on completely different sides of the spectrum, them having the same release date has made them forever synonymous with each other. In fact, ‘Barbenheimer’ was trending on Twitter for weeks and there are countless memes/videos merging the two films’ worlds together. Although it’s very rare for two films of this magnitude to be released on the same day, it’s not uncommon. Scroll down to see a list of instances where two huge movies were released on the same day. Let us know which release date has the movies you enjoy the most in the comments!

1. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan

Release Date: June 4, 1982 

Budget: $12 Million

Box Office: $97 Million 

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Nicholas Meyer and based on the television series Star Trek. It is the second film in the Star Trek film series following Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and is a sequel to the original series episode “Space Seed” (1967). The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. The film is the beginning of a three-film story arc that continues with the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and concludes with the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).

2. Poltergeist

Release Date: June 4, 1982

Budget: $10.7 Million

Box Office: $121.7 Million

Poltergeist is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor from a story by Spielberg. It stars JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson and Beatrice Straight, and was produced by Spielberg and Frank Marshall. The film focuses on a suburban family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their youngest daughter.

3. Gremlins

Release Date: June 8, 1984

Budget: $11 Million

Box Office: $212.9 Million 

4. Ghostbusters

Release Date: June 8, 1984

Budget: $25-30 Million

Box Office: $295.2 Million

Ghostbusters is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. It also stars Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, and features Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, and William Atherton in supporting roles.

5. Casino

Release Date: November 22, 1995 

Budget: $40-50 Million 

Box Office: $116.1 Million

Casino is a 1995 American epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Barbara De Fina and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is based on the 1995 nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Scorsese. It stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, and James Woods. The film was the eighth collaboration between director Scorsese and De Niro.

Casino follows Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Niro), a Jewish American gambling expert handicapper who is asked by the Chicago Outfit to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. Other major characters include Nicky Santoro (Pesci), a “made man” and friend of Sam, and Ginger McKenna (Stone), a streetwise chip hustler whom Sam marries and has a daughter with. The film details Sam’s operation of the casino, the difficulties he confronts in his job, the Mafia’s involvement with the casino, and the gradual breakdown of his relationships and standing, as Las Vegas changes over the years.

 

6. Toy Story

Release Date: November 2, 1995

Budget: $30 Million 

Box Office: $394.4 Million

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the Toy Story franchise, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar. It was directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Bonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, from a screenplay written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow and a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft. The film features music by Randy Newman, and was executive-produced by Steve Jobs and Edwin Catmull. The film features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, and Erik von Detten.

Taking place in a world where toys come to life when humans are not present, the plot of Toy Story focuses on the relationship between an old-fashioned pull-string cowboy doll named Woody and a modern space cadet action figure, Buzz Lightyear, as Woody develops jealousy towards Buzz when he becomes their owner Andy’s favorite toy.

 

7. Heat

Release Date: December 15, 1995

Budget: $60 Million

Box Office: $187.4 Million

Heat is a 1995 American crime film written and directed by Michael Mann. It features an ensemble cast led by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, with Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Wes Studi and Val Kilmer in supporting roles. The film follows the conflict between an LAPD detective (played by Pacino) and a career criminal (played by De Niro) while also depicting its effect on their professional relationships and personal lives.

8. Jumanji

Release Date: December 15, 1995

Budget: $65 Million

Box Office: $262.8 Million

Jumanji is a 1995 American urban fantasy adventure film directed by Joe Johnston from a screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain, based on the 1981 children’s picture book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. The film is the first installment in the Jumanji film series. It stars Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Jonathan Hyde, and Bebe Neuwirth. The story centers on a supernatural board game that releases jungle-based hazards upon its players with every turn they take.

9. The Princess Diaries

Release Date: August 3, 2001

Budget: $26 Million 

Box Office: $165.3 Million

The Princess Diaries is a 2001 American coming-of-age comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Garry Marshall. Loosely based on Meg Cabot‘s 2000 young adult novel of the same name, the film was written by Gina Wendkos and stars Anne Hathaway (her feature film debut) and Julie Andrews, with a supporting cast consisting of Héctor Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, Caroline Goodall and Robert Schwartzman. The film follows Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway), a shy American teenager who learns she is heir to the throne of a European kingdom. Under the tutelage of her estranged grandmother (Andrews), the kingdom’s reigning queen, Mia must decide whether to claim the throne she has inherited or renounce her title permanently.

10. Rush Hour 2

Release Date: August 3, 2001

Budget: $90 Million

Box Office: $347.3 Million 

Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jeff Nathanson, based on the characters created by Ross LaManna. A sequel to Rush Hour, it is the second installment in the Rush Hour franchise and stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reprising their roles from the first film. The story follows Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) and LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker), who go to Hong Kong on vacation only to be thwarted by a murder case involving two U.S. customs agents after a bombing at the American embassy. Lee suspects that the crime is linked to the Triad crime lord Ricky Tan (Lone).

11. The Bourne Identity

Release Date: June 14, 2002

Budget: $60 Million

Box Office: $214 Million

The Bourne Identity is a 2002 action-thriller film based on Robert Ludlum‘s 1980 novel. It was directed and co-produced by Doug Liman and written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, a man suffering from psychogenic amnesia attempting to discover his identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the CIA. It also features Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Walton Goggins, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. The first installment in the Bourne film series, it was followed by The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Bourne Legacy (2012), and Jason Bourne (2016).

12. Scooby-Doo

Release Date: June 14, 2002

Budget: $84 Million

Box Office: $275.7 Million

Scooby-Doo (also known as Scooby-Doo: The Movie) is a 2002 American fantasy adventure comedy film^[3] based on the long-running animated franchise of the same name. The first installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series, the film was directed by Raja Gosnell from a screenplay by James Gunn, and stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson. Neil Fanning provides the voice of the titular character. The plot revolves around Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young adults and a talking dog who solve mysteries, who reunite after a two-year disbandment to investigate a mystery at a popular horror-themed tropical island resort.

13. Mamma Mia!

Release Date: July 18, 2008

Budget: $52 Million

Box Office: $611.3 Million 

Mamma Mia! (promoted as Mamma Mia! The Movie) is a 2008 jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson, based on her book from the 1999 musical of the same name. The film is based on the songs of pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson. The film features an ensemble cast, including Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Meryl Streep, and Julie Walters. The plot follows a young bride-to-be who invites three men to her upcoming wedding, with the possibility that any of them could be her father. The film was an international co-production between Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was co-produced by Playtone and Littlestar Productions.

14. The Dark Knight

Release Date: July 18, 2008

Budget: $185 Million 

Box Office: $1.006 Billion

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. The plot follows the vigilante Batman, police lieutenant James Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent, who form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. Their efforts are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from chaos. The ensemble cast includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.

15. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

Release Date: December 16, 2011 

Budget: $125 Million 

Box Office: $543.8 Million 

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 period mystery action film and the sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, both which star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The film’s screenplay was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively, alongside Noomi Rapace as Madame Simza “Sim” Heron, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan, Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty, Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade, William Houston as Constable Clark and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler. Although the film follows an original premise, it incorporates more closely elements of Conan Doyle’s short stories, including “The Final Problem” and “The Adventure of the Empty House“. In the film, Holmes and Watson travel across Europe with a Romani adventuress to foil an intricate plot by the cunning Professor Moriarty to instigate a major European conflict. 

16. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Release Date: December 16, 2011 

Budget: $145 Million 

Box Office: $694.7 Million 

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 American action spy film directed by Brad Bird (in his live-action debut) and produced by and starring Tom Cruise from a screenplay by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006) and is the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It also stars Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton. In the film, the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) is shut down after being publicly implicated in a bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team to go without resources or backup in a life-threatening effort to clear their names.