The popular language of the Americans has just added a new expression to its dictionary: Barbenheimer.
This term is the result of combining the titles of the Barbie and Oppenheimer films, the two more than publicized films that have coincided in their premiere.
Two blockbusters about which the media apparatus has generated real fever and captivated the collective imagination. No one doubts that they are on their way to cause a bombing in the collection.
The forecasts point to the best weekend in years at the box office, especially relevant as an incentive to recover the lost ground in the face of streaming and the change in habits caused by the confinement forced by the pandemic.
Analysts say the display business needs to get Barbenheimer up and running to mark a renaissance. Facing the most optimistic, however, there are more than doubts that these two films have enough power to drive higher gains in the shares of the movie theater chains, while the strike of Hollywood actors and screenwriters clouds the outlook for the industry.
The great paradox. Two blockbusters arrive, at the cost of a doll and the father of the atomic bomb, when the basic elements of the sector face a nuclear, existential problem.
The writers have been fighting for several months, since the spring. The actors joined the picket lines and the demonstrations ten days ago. Both groups are seeking higher compensation for their work and the guarantee that they will not be supplanted by a machine.
The so-called residual earnings or royalties (royalties), the money earned from reproductions or the use of texts over time have been greatly diminished by the studio’s policy with the digital distribution of content.
The long-term payoffs depend on the number of repetitions. They are reduced as time goes by and differ from the leading role.
They have also conspired against the use of artificial intelligence. The studios reserve the right to recreate endless replicas of the performers with AI or produce scripts that are then spruced up by writers on poverty wages or give the texts a touch of humanity.
“Companies have blown up a successful model that was enjoyed by the public and was immensely profitable,” said Adam Conover, actor and writer. “And now they refuse to update the contracts to reflect all those changes,” he said.
This union of forces, the double strike, had not taken place since 1960. At that time, a secondary actor in westerns and famous for appearing in the Bonzo monkey, he led his people and capitalized on the successful talks with the bosses to establish residual earnings. His name was Ronald Reagan and, once he became president of the United States, in 1980, he dynamited the union movement.
The effects of the strike are already being felt with the stoppage of million-dollar productions of successful franchises such as Gladiator 2, Deadpool 3 or Beetlejuice 3, while Warner Bros. is considering postponing the debut of Dune 2. Despite this scenario, there are no talks and very little trust is perceived between the two sides. “We are the victims,” said Fran Drescher, the actress who chairs the actors’ union (SAG-Aftra). “We are victims of a very greedy entity. I am in awe of how we are treated by the people we have been in this business with,” she added.
One of the circumstances that is verified is the absence of someone in the industry to take the reins. Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, seemed like one of the best. But his explosive statements a few days ago – “in the digital landscape, his requests are unrealistic,” he stated – led to the absolute rejection of a manager who earns 27 million dollars a year.
The climate has gotten worse after the declarations to Deadline of a director who maintained that they will resist the strike until the actors and writers have to sell their house. “This is disgusting and unrealistic,” replied actor Ron Perlman. His colleague Kevin Bacon added: “Not all of us are super well paid, there are a lot of working class people trying to make a living.”
