We Have Barbenheimer at Home: What's 2024's Biggest Box Office Clash of Titans?

It’s been a year, but the Barbenheimer case is still almost as memorable as when it happened. Two very different big-budget movies premiering on the same date changed the course of their relationship almost instantly as instead of arguing which is better, thousands and thousands of fans decided to watch them both at once.

While a peculiar phenomenon, it was also immensely lucrative for both projects — and it seems like we might have another Barbenheimer on our hands in 2024.

2024 Barbenheimer Is Real and Promising

Wicked has long become one of the most beloved Broadway musicals, and it’s now making its way to the big silver screens. Following the witches of Oz, this Jon M. Chu-directed musical fantasy stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Their unique friendship forged during their years at Shiz University will eventually see them drift apart and become rivaling Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Meanwhile, Ridley Scott is getting ready to present the world Gladiator II, the sequel to his famous award-winning movie. This one’s going to be an action-fueled historical drama, and a rather dark and bloody one at that. With Russell Crowe, Joseph Quinn, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal, it follows Lucilla’s son after Maximus's death.

Both these movies are scheduled to premiere in November 2024. Ring any bells?

Can Wicked and Gladiator II Revive the Legend?

While both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan ’s Oppenheimer are outstanding movies, they will forever be remembered in the context of Barbenheimer. This unique turn of events contributed greatly to their success, and in the year since their premiere, no other movie duo has been able to replicate their phenomenon.

Will Wicked and Gladiator II pull it off?

Here’s the deal: while they’re both scheduled to premiere in November 2024, they have different dates. Scott’s Gladiator II is set for November 15 — and Chu’s Wicked will be released on November 27, almost two weeks later. Unless any one of them moves toward the other, there can’t be a proper Barbenheimer experience.

Should their studios wish to go down the Barbenheimer path, though, they have pretty good odds: the two movies might not be as polar opposite as Barbie and Oppenheimer but they’re still miles apart. And with their vibes matching those of the original rivals-turned-friends, they could try and revive the 2-for-1 phenomenon.