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<ul><li>Gadar, Jailer and OMG2 opening weekend collections are the best the industry has seen in a long time.</li><li>While Deol and Rajnikanth movies charged up single screens, Nolan’s Oppenheimer gave IMAX its biggest ever opening weekend in India.</li><li>Punjabi movie Carry on Jetta 3 entered the Rs 100 crore club while Marathi movie Bhaipan Bharideva is on its way to the landmark.</li><li>Stellar September releases and OTTs slashing budgets bode well for movie theatres, says a research report. </li></ul>Indian movie theatres are dusting off their ‘Housefull’ boards with superhits like Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2, Rajnikanth’s Jailer and a good opening for Akshay Kumar and Pankaj Tripathi’s OMG 2. Thanks to the Independence Day holiday effect, the opening weekend collections of these three movies zoomed to ₹390 crore — the best the industry has seen in a long time. “August looks promising,” says a research report by Nuvama, adding that strong footfalls are likely for extended days given more holidays and pent-up demand for the sequel of Gadar and Jailer. The good times for movie theatres started in July itself starting with the mega success of Barbenheimer. Karan Johar’s Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani and Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One — added to the collections as the much needed footfalls inched higher. While Sunny Deol and Rajnikanth movies charged up the single screens across the nation, Christopher Nolan’s atom bomb magnum opus Oppenheimer brought the shine back to IMAX. “Oppenheimer scored the biggest IMAX opening weekend ever in a diverse collection of markets including India. As he has done throughout his career, Christopher Nolan pushed the boundaries of IMAX technology to deliver unforgettable storytelling with Oppenheimer and audiences are responding in numbers we’ve not seen in our 50-year history,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Movie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India Gross collections </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jailer </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹204.3 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gadar 2 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹205 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OMG 2 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹65 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahani </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹157.5 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Satyaprem Ki Katha </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹99.8 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Baipan Bhari </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹89.6 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Carry on Jetta 3 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹55.9 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Oppenheimer </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹124 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Barbie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹44.7 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mission Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹127 crore </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Sacnilk.com Punjabi &amp; Marathi movies add to the coffers The story of silver screen successes in the recent past extends beyond Hollywood, Bollywood and Telugu cinema. The recent months have seen a lot of traction from regional movies — extending beyond the South movies. Punjabi movie Carry on Jetta 3, starring Gippy Grewal and Jaswinder Bhalla, became the first movie to cross the ₹100 crore mark in worldwide collections even as it grossed over half of that in India. A Marathi movie — which also boasts of an all-female lead starring Rohini Hattangadi and Baipan Bhari Deva — has also grossed ₹89.6 crore Added to that, many other recent Hindi releases like Satyaprem Ki Katha also came close to becoming superhits – signalling good times for movie makers, theatre owners and investors of PVR. The stock of PVR ran up by 22% in the last three months, and analysts expect better times ahead. “We continue to reiterate our positive stance on multiplexes over the medium/long-term. PVR INOX continues its focus on expanding F&amp;B offerings (especially for INOX chain) and recently introduced F&amp;B items starting at ₹99, gaining good traction. Ticket synergy benefits shall likely kick in from upcoming quarters while the F&amp;B synergy benefits are already as per plans,” said Nuvama. More movies, fewer OTTs The pipeline of big movies in the coming months is also full — with Ayushmann Khurrana’s Dream Girl 2, Hollywood movie, Grand Turismo, and Malayalam movie, King of Kotha, in August. In September, Shah Rukh Khan who is riding high on the success of Pathaan will release yet another movie Jawan. Conjuring universe movie ‘The Nun 2’ will also release next month along with yet another Prabhas starrer, Salaar Part 1. Added to that, the biggest competitor of theatres, the OTT, is slashing budgets, forcing couch surfers to step out. “Recent Hindi films are hinting towards a revival, and we expect international OTTs to cut India budget by 20–30% in FY24, both of which bode well for PVR INOX,” says Nuvama.

Gadar 2, Jailer, Oppenheimer & more resurrect the big screens as people throng to theatres again

<ul class="summary-list"><li>2023's top movies, "Barbie," "Oppenheimer," and" "Mario," weren't sequels or remakes.</li><li>Meanwhile, Disney's Marvel and DC saw some disappointing turnouts.</li></ul>Eight years ago, Steven Spielberg predicted that the superhero movie would one day go <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-movies-steven-spielberg-kate-capshaw-7b4d35d049ff4dc0b6ffe94c4a3fa7ed">"the way of the Western."</a>Spielberg's comments caused a widespread stir at the time. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/avengers-age-of-ultron-review-2015-4">"Avengers: The Age of Ultron"</a> was then one of the year's biggest movies. The following year would bring "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/captain-america-civil-war-movie-commentary-facts-2016-9">Captain America: Civil War,</a>" "Deadpool" and "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." The superhero movie was in high gear, and showing no signs of slowing down.But Spielberg's point was that nothing is forever in the movie business. These cycles, Spielberg said, "have a finite time in popular culture." And the maker of "E.T.," "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/jurassic-park-cast-then-and-now-2018-6">Jurassic Park</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/steven-spielberg-jaws-shocked-hit-shark-looked-dumb-2023-2">Jaws</a>" might know a thing or two about the ebbs and flows of pop-culture taste.As 2023 draws to a close, no one is sounding the death knell of the superhero movie. The Walt Disney Co.'s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-details-to-know-2023-4">"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"</a> made $845.6 million worldwide and Sony's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse-trailer-tom-holland-reference-2023-4">"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"</a> ($691 million) was one of the most acclaimed films of the year. Marvel is still mightier than any other brand in the business.But more than ever before, there are chinks in the armor of the superhero movie. Its dominance in popular culture is no longer quite so assured. A cycle may be turning, and a new one dawning.For the first time in more than two decades, the top three movies at the box office didn't include one sequel or remake: "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/all-upcoming-movies-mattel-toys-barbie-2023-7">Barbie</a>," "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/super-mario-bros-first-video-game-movie-highst-gross-billion-2023-5">The Super Mario Bros. Movie</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oppenheimer-fact-vs-fiction-what-the-movie-got-right-wrong-2023-7">Oppenheimer</a>." The last time that happened was 2001, when "Harry Potter and the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/details-missed-harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-2020-9"> Sorcerer's Stone</a>," "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/fun-facts-shrek-movie-2019-2">Shrek</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/monsters-inc-cool-and-unique-details-you-never-saw">Monsters, Inc.</a>" topped the box office.No, it's not exactly a lineup of originality like, say, 1973, when "The Exorcist, "The Sting" and "American Graffiti" led all movies in ticket sales. "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-movie-2023-fun-facts-details-2023-7">Barbie</a>" and "The Super Mario Bros.," based on some of the most familiar brands in the world, will generate spinoffs and sequels of their own.But it's hard not to sense a shift in moviegoing, one that might have reverberations for years to come for Hollywood."There's an inflection point in 2023," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. " <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/barbenheimer-barbie-oppenheimer-double-feature-3f2cebb6720fb79b8584976f9e97eca0">Barbenheimer</a> is just one part of that story. Audiences, they want to be challenged. I think the tried and true is not necessarily working."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-movie-could-recoup-huge-marketing-spend-opening-weekend-2023-7">Greta Gerwig's "Barbie,"</a> from Warner Bros., was the year's runaway hit, with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales worldwide. It was a blockbuster like none seen before: an anarchic comedy that set a string of records for a movie directed by a woman.Nearly as unprecedented was the success of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-oppenheimer-same-release-date-reason-christopher-nolan-superstitious-2023-12">Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer,"</a> a three-hour drama that nearly grossed $1 billion. As different as it and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-movie-set-win-barbenheimer-box-office-battle-with-oppenheimer-2023-7">Barbie</a>" were, they were each <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/barbie-oppenheimer-barbenheimer-box-office-d07dce60b4726b2c168c228e1a405c70">original feats of cinema</a> and personal statements by its directors.At the same time, the Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel, a hit-making machine like none other in movie history, faltered like never before. "The Marvels" <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/marvels-box-office-disney-brie-larson-392f34978d96a5a2bca5e32717d888e8">marked a new low for the Marvel Cinematic Universe</a>, collecting $200 million globally. DC Studios, in the midst of a revamp, saw disappointing results for "The Flash" and "Blue Beetle" before watching <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/box-office-aquaman-b11c243a659b1b7ad826d5a8298c5855#:~:text=Including%20international%20estimates%20at%20%2480,of%20its%20box%20office%20internationally.">"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" sink to a $28.1 million debut.</a><div type="image" title="A photo of Jason Mamoa as Aquaman" height="2160" width="3840" msid="106459658" hostid="261" sizebytes="254178"></div>Both Marvel and DC have already made moves to right their ships. Bob Iger, Disney's chief executive, has called turning around Marvel his top priority. He said the superhero studio has suffered greatly from too many films and series leading to "diluted quality." The James Gunn, Peter Safran-led DC, meanwhile, won't officially launch until 2025 with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/james-gunn-superman-legacy-cast-2023-7">"Superman Legacy."</a>In the meantime, something else will have to fill the void. That was a theme in 2023, too, when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/hollywood-strike-sag-aftra-wga-writers-actors-1960-2023-7">the writers and actors strikes</a> marred release plans and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/fall-2023-movies-tv-affected-sag-wga-strikes">forced the delay of several films</a> including Warner's "Dune: Part Two," Sony's next "Ghostbusters" movie and MGM's "Challengers."Those disruptions will continue in 2024. Analysts aren't expecting a banner year for Hollywood in part because films like the next "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/how-tom-cruise-mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-stunts-2023-8">Mission: Impossible</a>" film and the "Spider-Verse" sequel, both delayed by the strikes, won't make their original dates.Overall ticket sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters for 2023 are expected to reach about $9 billion, according to Comscore, an improvement of about 20% from 2022. The industry is still trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing, when ticket sales regularly surpassed $11 billion. Output of wide-releases in 2023 (88) still trailed those in 2019 (108) by 18.5%.Hollywood is still coaxing moviegoers back to theaters — something "Barbie," "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/oppenheimer-ending-explained-by-director-christopher-nolan-2023-7">Oppenheimer</a>" and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/super-mario-bros-movie-smashes-records-top-animated-film-opening-2023-4">Mario</a>" went a long way to helping.<div type="image" title="A photo of Gabrielle Roitman, Kayla Seffing, Maddy Hiller and Casey Myer posing in front of an Oppenheimer poster." height="3624" width="5135" msid="106459659" hostid="261" sizebytes="1308546"></div>"It reinforced something that we've known for 100 years in the business: People like going to the shared experience out of the home," says Jeffrey Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. "They love being entertained. Movies are a good financial proposition and can bring in a mass audience.""It probably started with '<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/super-mario-bros-movie-cast-dressed-like-characters-red-carpet-2023-4">Mario</a>' last April," adds Goldstein. "I think that showed audiences again that theaters are a fun place to be to. And it showed studios and content creators: Up your game."If 2023 is any guide, hits will come from increasingly unpredictable places.That was the case with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-movie-vs-real-life-best-worst-scenes-2023-10">"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,"</a> a film released just two months after Swift's recorded concerts in <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-eras-concert-films-a284a04596c6b71b3de7a9bcf9c83b7b">a first-of-its-kind distribution deal with AMC Theatres</a>. It grossed $250 million worldwide, and was followed by the similarly released "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/beyonce-renaissance-world-tour-movie-premiere-best-photos-lizzo-2023-11">another No. 1 debut.</a>More surprising was "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sound-of-freedom-deemed-box-office-hit-liberals-have-doubts-2023-7">Sound of Freedom</a>," a $15 million film from the independent Angel Studios, which matched Swift with $250 million worldwide. It was released with a unique "pay it forward" program that allowed people to donate tickets.Going into 2023, no one was betting "Sound of Freedom" would outgross "The Marvels" or that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/five-nights-at-freddys-cast-vs-video-game-characters-photos-2023-10">"Five Nights at Freddy's"</a> would have a bigger opening weekend than <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/indiana-jones-dial-of-destiny-harrison-ford-emotional-evolution-2023-7">"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."</a><div type="image" title="A photo of Teyonah Parris playing Captain Monica Rambeau in The Marvels." height="1716" width="3299" msid="106459660" hostid="261" sizebytes="77980"></div>"There are going to be examples of big-budget, traditional blockbusters that do well," says Dergarabedian. "But for every one of those, there have been two that failed. An audience that's finding a lot of interesting material on streaming is becoming more open to films like '<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/godzilla-minus-one-us-release-date-watch-tickets-2023-11">Godzilla Minus One</a>,' <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-india-4d04b6d032cabfc91b6d0beb6642c1ef">Indian cinema</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/box-office-hayao-miyazaki-boy-heron-godzilla-81158fbde74556aa7add3be4f594f4c6">Japanese anime</a>. There's a shift in audience taste and studios need to get a handle on this."That poses as much of a challenge as an opportunity to studios. If more-of-the-same no longer has quite the same appeal for moviegoers, an industry that for years has depended on sequels, prequels, reboots and remakes to make up the bulk of its profits may require new creativity.The Western didn't vanish all at once. After two decades of ubiquity, it began going out of style in the 1960s. And the Western, of course, continues to be rich territory for filmmakers. This year, 81-year-old <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/martin-scorsese-set-real-life-killers-of-the-flower-moon-2023-10">Martin Scorsese</a> made his first Western in "Killers of the Flower Moon," the three-hour-plus $200 million epic from Apple Studios.The superhero movie, likewise, won't ever die. But its heyday might have reached its <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/0a72e05fc40e406ca07079abc2249a7c">endgame.</a>

The movie industry is at an 'inflection point' going into 2024

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Christopher Nolan reacted to speculation that he detonated a real bomb for the film "Oppenheimer."</li><li>Nolan called it "flattering" that people assumed he'd be capable of that, but "also a little bit scary."</li></ul>Director <a href="https://www.insider.com/christopher-nolan-warner-bros-feud-oppenheimer-barbie-2023-7">Christopher Nolan</a> sort of cleared the air regarding speculation that he detonated an actual atomic bomb on the set of his new film "<a href="https://www.insider.com/sag-aftra-strike-oppenheimer-cast-left-premiere-nolan-confirms-2023-7">Oppenheimer</a>.""It's flattering that people would think I would be capable of something as extreme as that on the one hand, but it's also a little bit scary," Nolan told <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-cast-interview-film-1235535418/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a> in an interview published on Friday and conducted prior to the start of the actors' strike. Nolan, who famously <a href="https://www.insider.com/christopher-nolan-blew-up-boeing-747-for-tenet-stunt-2020-5">prefers practical effects</a> and analog methods over CGI, didn't elaborate on how exactly the explosion imagery was created for the film. However, he confirmed to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-cast-interview-film-1235535418/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">THR</a> and <a href="https://collider.com/oppenheimer-no-cgi-christopher-nolan-comments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collider</a> that there are no CGI shots in "Oppenheimer.""CG inherently is quite comfortable to look at," Nolan told THR. "It's safe, anodyne. And what I said to [visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson] on 'Oppenheimer' is, 'This can't be safe. It can't be comfortable to look at it. It has to have bite. It's got to be beautiful and threatening in equal measure.'"<div type="image" title="Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in &quot;Oppenheimer.&quot;" height="865" width="1920" msid="101767304" hostid="261"></div>"Oppenheimer," directed and written by Nolan, is based on Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer."The star-studded movie centers on American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), who oversaw the invention of the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. Nolan told THR that he became interested in making a film about the intersection of science and politics after <a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-pattinson-career-life-bio-photos">Robert Pattinson</a>, the star of his 2020 film "<a href="https://www.insider.com/tenet-composer-ludwig-goransson-explains-score-2020-12">Tenet</a>," gifted him a collection of Oppenheimer's speeches."I started to get very excited about, rather than using it as an analogy in a science fiction sense, telling the actual reality of the story, really trying to be there, to give people the experience of what it would have been like to be Oppenheimer in those moments," he said.<div type="image" title="Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in &quot;Oppenheimer.&quot;" height="781" width="1042" msid="101767305" hostid="261"></div>Nolan previously told <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/oppenheimer-christopher-nolan-scale-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Total Film</a> that recreating the Trinity test, the world's first nuclear weapon detonation, sans CGI was "a huge challenge to take on."The director said that he and Jackson started working together "early on" to figure out "how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather."In a behind-the-scenes featurette posted by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9EiLF7l8ug">Universal Pictures</a> on Monday, Nolan said that the crew did "a lot of experimentation" and "came up with a lot of interesting analog methods of how to approach this, all of which was leading to the Trinity test, which had to feel nightmarish and terrifying in a way that computer graphics never really is.""What we were able to get into the finished film, to me, is extraordinarily beautiful but also very frightening," he said."Oppenheimer" hits theaters Friday, July 21.

Christopher Nolan reacts to fans who assumed he detonated an atomic bomb on the set of 'Oppenheimer'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oppenheimer-los-alamos-manhattan-project-scientists-atomic-bomb-petition-2023-7">Manhattan Project</a> displaced some New Mexicans and employed others at Los Alamos in the 1940s.</li><li>When the project detonated the first atom bomb, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nuclear-bomb-attack-russia-ukraine-how-strong-far-2022-2">radioactive fallout</a> rained on thousands of people.</li></ul>When the Manhattan Project team led by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/life-career-of-j-robert-oppenheimer-father-of-atomic-bomb-2023-6">J. Robert Oppenheimer</a> detonated the first atom bomb in the New Mexico desert in 1945, Tina Cordova's family was living in nearby Tularosa.After the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-christopher-nolan-oppenheimer-atomic-bomb-trinity-test-no-cgi-2023-7">bright blast</a>, radioactive ash fell from the sky for days.A decade later, Cordova says, her great-grandfathers were both diagnosed with what was called "stomach cancer" at the time. Then her grandmothers had cancer. Then her father. Now Cordova herself is a survivor of thyroid cancer.<div type="image" title="white paper sign with colorful skull illustrated and colorful words reading &quot;I got cancer living downwind of Trinity&quot;" height="1500" width="2000" msid="102114412" hostid="261"></div>"The first question they asked me was 'When were you <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/radioactive-fallout-from-nuclear-bomb-surprising-facts-2023-3">exposed to radiation</a>?'" Cordova, who founded the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, said in a panel discussion on July 17. "And now I have a 23-year-old niece going to college in California, studying art, wants to work at Pixar. And in November, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer."The Manhattan Project displaced some New Mexicans, employed others, and irradiated potentially thousands. None of them appear in the new Christopher Nolan film about the project, called "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oppenheimer-science-to-understand-physics-atomic-bombs-2023-7">Oppenheimer</a>."<div type="image" title="christopher nolan wearing a suit reaches into a crowd of people holding out posters at the red carpet" height="1498" width="1998" msid="102114413" hostid="261"></div>Cordova said she made several unsuccessful attempts to contact somebody on Nolan's team, hoping to ensure the film acknowledged these local impacts."A reflection on those sorts of things would've taken nothing away from this film and actually would be in line with the regrets that Robert Oppenheimer eventually expressed," Cordova told Insider during the panel.In December, Olivia Fermi also tried to contact filmmakers by reaching out to lead actors on Instagram or via contact forms on their charities' websites, and by asking for help from Kai Bird, an author of the book "American Prometheus", which is the basis of the new movie."I hoped only that they would include something in the end credits," Fermi, a psychological counselor in Vancouver and an acquaintance of Cordova's, told Insider. Her grandfather was the physicist <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/manhattan-project-scientists-who-won-nobel-prizes-2023-7">Enrico Fermi</a>, who worked on the Manhattan Project and is played by Danny Deferrari in the film.<div type="image" title="black and white photo of enrico fermi wearing a coat sitting at a desk in a laboratory" height="1499" width="1999" msid="102114414" hostid="261"></div>"I was hoping that because of my last name that somebody would notice," Fermi said.It's not clear if her messages reached anybody involved in the film, based on emails and screenshots that Fermi shared with Insider."There's no excuse in 2023 to not include families, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-manhattan-project-christopher-nolan-oppenheimer-completely-ignored-2023-7">women</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/manhattan-project-oppenheimer-black-scientists-history-atomic-bomb-science-2023-7">minorities</a>," she added.NBCUniversal, the company that owns the studio behind the film, did not respond to Insider's request for comment.<h2>The Manhattan Project grabbed some locals' land and recruited others</h2><div type="image" title="black and white photo shows seven men in suits standing on a dirt road in the new mexico desert" height="1499" width="1999" msid="102114415" hostid="261"></div>When the US government first chose Los Alamos as the location for its secret nuclear lab, it <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/hispanic-homesteaders-and-the-los-alamos-national-laboratory.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">displaced several families</a> who had been living and farming the land for generations.Many of the homesteaders were Hispanic. The language barrier and sight of uniforms and guns may have intimidated them into accepting the government's offer to buy their land, <a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/voices/oral-histories/rosario-martinez-fiorillos-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> Rosario Martinez Fiorillo, a descendant of one of the evicted families.Some homesteaders received as little as $7 an acre for their land, while the government paid about $225 an acre for the Los Alamos Ranch school and $43 an acre for the Anchor Ranch, both Anglo-owned.After homesteaders' <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/27/us/land-for-los-alamos-lab-taken-unfairly-heirs-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">descendants petitioned the federal government</a> over the discrepancy, Congress set up a $10 million fund, acknowledging the Hispanic homesteaders had been paid less for their land.Even after the displacement, people still lived near the lab and what would eventually become the Trinity site, where the scientists and military personnel tested the first atomic bomb. Residents from the San Ildefonso Pueblo, El Rancho, and other nearby communities started working at the laboratory site.Many of the women started as house cleaners or <a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/voices/oral-histories/esther-vigils-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">babysitters</a> for the scientists and their spouses, but many eventually <a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/voices/oral-histories/lydia-martinezs-interview-2009/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">became technicians</a> or <a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/voices/oral-histories/eulalia-quintana-newtons-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clerical workers</a> as the project expanded and more and more workers were needed.None of those local landowners or workers appear in the Nolan film. The Oppenheimer character briefly mentions people living in the area when he proposes it as the site for the Manhattan Project.<h2>The first atom-bomb test spread nuclear fallout over thousands of people</h2><div type="image" title="Trinity Test" height="1051" width="2000" msid="102114416" hostid="261"></div>On the night before the Trinity Test, <a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/elizabeth-riddle-graves/">Elizabeth</a> and Alvin Graves, a married couple of physicists who worked at Los Alamos, <a href="https://tupress.temple.edu/books/their-day-in-the-sun" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">headed to a cabin</a> in Carrizozo, New Mexico, about 45 miles from the test site.Though the project's scientists weren't sure exactly how the radiation would affect humans, they still thought that Elizabeth Graves, <a href="https://cdn.lanl.gov/files/1663-30-oct2017_755b5.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">who was pregnant</a>, should be miles away."Their understanding of what's a safe amount of radiation to be exposed to is not the same one we would have today," <a href="https://www.stevens.edu/profile/awellers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alex Wellerstein</a>, a historian of science and nuclear technology and professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology, told Insider.Post-war research would focus heavily on the effects of radiation, but at the time, "their real priority is making the atomic bomb, not keeping these marginalized communities safe," he said.On July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb exploded. Over 280 miles away, in Amarillo, Texas, residents could <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-first-light-of-the-trinity-atomic-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">see a bright flash</a>. Windows broke and <a href="https://www.scdailypress.com/2020/07/17/shattered-dishes-broken-windows-atomic-bomb-test-shook-silver-city-75-years-ago-but-that-wasnt-the-story-at-first/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dishes rattled</a> in Silver City, New Mexico. It was 5:30 a.m.Almost 11 hours later, the cloud of radiation wafted toward the Graves. The needle on the couple's Geiger counter was stuck on the highest reading.<div type="image" title="person crouching in jeans holds geiger counter little yellow box with wand detector over desert sand" height="1500" width="1999" msid="102114417" hostid="261"></div>There were people living even closer to the test site, though, some within 13 miles of the blast, according to Cordova and the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/trinity-test-downwinders.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service</a>, which maintains Los Alamos as a historical park.Tens of thousands of people lived within 50 miles of the test site.The difference between them and the Graves' is that the locals had no idea what was happening. Nobody had warned them.To explain the flashes, booms, and rattles, Gen. Leslie Groves <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=5c52b98acdf1177ece03b3c571ae9dbb99bd4401eac50e97ec1861bd98206946&amp;postID=64bab5b530c74caf03250084&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic.com%2Fhistory%2Farticle%2Flawmakers-move-urgently-to-recognize-survivors-of-the-first-atomic-bomb-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had an officer</a> from the Alamogordo Air Base tell the Associated Press that "a remotely located ammunition magazine containing a considerable amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics exploded" but that no one was injured.<h2>No evacuations as radioactive ash fell from the sky</h2>Wellerstein said the Army had people stationed in downwind towns with radiation detectors, and plans to initiate evacuations if the radiation spiked past a certain level. Ultimately, nobody was evacuated."They did have towns that, according to their surveys, picked up radiation. They judged all of this to be within safe tolerances," Wellerstein said. "Today we probably wouldn't judge that to be acceptable amounts of radiation to be exposed to."<div type="image" title="Cillian Murphy in a scene from &quot;Oppenheimer&quot; where J. Robert Oppenheimer is standing by the side of a dirt road next to a black car while gazing into the distance." height="865" width="1920" msid="102114419" hostid="261"></div>Radioactive fallout from the blast spread northeast, over an area about 250 miles long and 200 miles wide, according to NPS. Ash fell from the sky for days. The radiation landed on vegetables and cattle that locals relied on for food, and in cisterns they used to collect rainwater, since many had no running water."Truly it set up the perfect storm for overexposing us," said Cordova, whose father was four years old and lived in a downwind community at the time.Oppenheimer once <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/feb/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview7">wrote</a> that his "two great loves" were "physics and New Mexico.""I am distressed every time I hear that because I too love this great state. This is where I have chosen to live and where I choose to live every day," Cordova said. "We never were asked permission. We were never given a chance to weigh in on all of this. And this is the legacy that we live with."

'Oppenheimer' leaves out New Mexicans exposed to radiation from the Manhattan Project, despite local efforts to contact filmmakers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cillian Murphy told the Los Angeles Times that he went to see "Barbie" in a theater in Dublin. </li><li>Murphy said that he's devised a strategy to avoid getting recognized at the movies. </li></ul>"<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-oppenheimer-same-release-date-reason-christopher-nolan-superstitious-2023-12">Oppenheimer</a>" star <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/oppenheimer-cillian-murphy-diet-skipped-cast-dinners-2023-7">Cillian Murphy</a> figured out a genius trick to avoid getting spotted by fans when he visits movie theaters."I time going to movies very well now," Murphy, 47, told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-01-02/cillian-murphy-oppenheimer-oscars-christopher-nolan">Los Angeles Times</a> in an interview published Tuesday. "With the ads and trailers, I always arrive a half hour late, slip in and then slip out."Murphy's comment was prefaced by reporter Glenn Whipp asking the actor how he managed to watch Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" in his home city of Dublin earlier this year without causing a commotion.Murphy, who's been acting professionally since the '90s, is known for roles in "Peaky Blinders" and several of Christopher Nolan's films — in addition to his signature <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/cillian-murphy-blue-ocean-eyes-distraction-on-oppenheimer-set-2023-7">piercing blue eyes</a>. In recent months, he's garnered critical acclaim for his performance as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/oppenheimer-cast-vs-real-life-photos-2023-7">real-life American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer</a> in Nolan's "Oppenheimer."<div type="image" title="Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in &quot;Oppenheimer.&quot;" height="872" width="1920" msid="106497425" hostid="261" sizebytes="29960"></div>"Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" — collectively known as "<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-oppenheimer-plan-double-feature-2023-6">Barbenheimer</a>" — were both released on July 21, spawning a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/movie-barbie-oppenheimer-union-hollywood-strike-box-office-barbenheimer-2023-7">box-office rivalry</a> and pop culture phenomenon.Murphy voiced his support of "Barbie" during an interview with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ign.com/articles/christopher-nolan-embraces-barbenheimer">IGN</a> that month and said he was definitely planning on seeing the movie."I think it's just great for the industry and for audiences that we have two amazing films by amazing filmmakers coming out the same day," he said. "You could spend a whole day in the cinema, what's better than that?"He shared similar comments about the moviegoing experience in his interview with the LA Times. "To be part of a movie that people went to see multiple times and part of a great moment for cinema, that frenzy for those two films, was just lovely," he said. "I don't know if we'll ever see it again, but I'd like to hope so."

Cillian Murphy has a genius hack for going to movie theaters without getting recognized by fans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Twitter users have blasted fellow theatergoers for using their phones during the movies.</li><li>One user went viral as they lambasted people scrolling on TikTok in particular.</li></ul>Twitter users are venting about the poor etiquette they say they've experienced in movie theaters of late, complaining about obnoxious fellow filmgoers who use their phones while the film is in full swing.The simultaneous release of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on July 21 sparked a collective internet buzz, inspiring a wave of <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-twitter-best-barbenheimer-memes-reactions-2023-7">"Barbenheimer" memes</a>, as many planned to watch the two very different films back to back, but not everyone had the experience they'd hoped for. On July 31, a Twitter user who goes by @silvergelpen <a href="https://twitter.com/silvergelpen/status/1686065522792861698" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared a post</a> where they wrote they'd seen "Oppenheimer" the night before and experienced "one of the worst behaved crowds I've ever been in," which included "multiple camera flashes throughout" and "people in front of us scrolling TikTok half way thru the film."The tweet, which implored people not to attend a three-hour movie if they "don't have the attention span," appeared to resonate with many, as it received over 4.3 million views and 72,000 likes. Hundreds of other users shared similar experiences, pointing to specific issues they had with those around them in movie theaters, including <a href="https://twitter.com/SaintJoules/status/1686366192276226048" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people scrolling through Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/carriesnotscary/status/1686797774853992449" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opening TikTok</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCDMole/status/1686390413308149761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recording videos</a>.One Twitter user who goes by <a href="https://twitter.com/offbeatorbit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@offbeatorbit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/offbeatorbit/status/1686477732471861248">wrote</a>, "I literally turn my phone all the way off whenever I'm at a movie theater bc the idea of my phone making any noise in the audience makes me wanna die... so the idea that people are just ON THEIR PHONES BROWSING TIKTOK DURING A MOVIE IS INSANE TO ME WERE YOU RAISED IN A BARN?" That tweet received over 13.8 million views, and people shared even more examples of poor public etiquette, such as <a href="https://twitter.com/manndaraee/status/1686479091707363328">texting with the phone brightness up</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Autumn__Fox/status/1686821018868793373" target="_blank" rel="noopener">answering phone calls</a> in the middle of the theater.<a href="https://twitter.com/KateShelor/status/1686828794890551302" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One user</a> wrote that this sort of behavior had put them off going to the movies entirely, and <a href="https://twitter.com/danbarker/status/1686512560793624576" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another said</a> their local theater sometimes had a member of staff come out and remind people to put their phones away before the movie began.<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@arizonafilmmakers/video/7257584865166576942" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Multiple</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@starkiller_3/video/7258703172938501422" target="_blank" rel="noopener">videos</a> of viewers appearing to record the theater screen have popped up on TikTok since the release of "Oppenheimer" as they <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@joseochoatv/video/7260918012587281706?lang=en&amp;q=Oppenheimer%20theatre&amp;t=1691145835685" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document their experience</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dancewithmydawgs/video/7258136130107870506" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fawn over the cast</a>, or <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ophr.edits/video/7259849824462261531?q=oppenheimer%20theatre%20reaction&amp;t=1691148567998" target="_blank" rel="noopener">share lengthy, climactic, and spoiler-y scenes</a> from the movie. "Barbie" has received a similar treatment, as many have <a href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-tiktok-movie-theater-etiquette-lesson-2023-8">called out the behavior of those filming</a>, labeling it rude. It's not just movie theaters where paying customers are becoming frustrated with the behavior of others.Back in March, a 2022 clip of <a href="https://www.insider.com/concert-etiquette-debate-tyler-oakley-billie-eilish-taylor-swift-2023-3">a person singing loudly at a Billie Eilish concert sparked a debate</a> on Twitter about concert etiquette, and TikToks of fans <a href="https://www.insider.com/fan-blocks-stage-sign-stray-kids-concert-etiquette-debate-2023-4">holding</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/concert-fan-snatches-sign-viral-tiktok-2023-7">signs</a> at gigs and blocking the views of others have continued an ongoing conversation about the right way to behave in a public setting.<a href="https://www.insider.com/culture">For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.</a>

No one wants to see you scrolling on your phone during a movie so put it away

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"Barbie" is estimated to have had a $150 million marketing budget, according to Variety.</li><li>The marketing campaign has ranged from pink burgers to real-life Barbie dreamhouses.</li></ul>Warner Bros. reportedly spent $150 million on marketing for "Barbie," according to a new Variety report.<a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/barbie-marketing-campaign-explained-warner-bros-1235677922/">Per the publication</a>, rival studios estimated that the "Barbie" marketing campaign cost $150 million, which is more than the $145 million budget used to produce the movie in the first place.Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The marketing campaign ranged from <a href="https://www.insider.com/fans-use-barbie-film-posters-to-give-celebrities-new-slogans-2023-4">a website allowing fans to make custom "Barbie" posters</a>, to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S37bmOzH8c4">partnering with insurance company Progressive</a> for a commercial shot on the movie set, to <a href="https://www.insider.com/life-size-barbie-malibu-dreamhouse-airbnb-available-free-of-charge-2023-6?_gl=1*rq4wtq*_ga*MTEwNTMzNzYzLjE2NzUwNzIxMzk.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY5MDE4ODA2OC40MTMuMS4xNjkwMTg4MDczLjU1LjAuMA..">teaming with Airbnb to create a life-size replica of Barbie's Malibu dreamhouse,</a> and even <a href="https://www.insider.com/burger-king-twitter-grossed-out-barbie-burger-2023-7?_gl=1*gxc29u*_ga*MTEwNTMzNzYzLjE2NzUwNzIxMzk.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY5MDE4ODA2OC40MTMuMS4xNjkwMTg4MDgxLjQ3LjAuMA..">collaborating with Burger King Brazil on a pink burger.</a>Josh Goldstine, Warner Bros.' president of global marketing, told Variety that some brands jumped on the bandwagon to create their own pink items to capitalize on the "Barbie" buzz."Brands wanted to become part of this because they saw the film was finding its way into culture in such a dynamic way," Goldstine said. "It stopped becoming a marketing campaign and took on the quality of a movement."Fans quickly embraced the marketing campaign, <a href="https://twitter.com/civilserpentt/status/1682107725314940928">creating memes about how much was spent on promoting "Barbie"</a> in comparison to the <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-twitter-best-barbenheimer-memes-reactions-2023-7">rival movie, "Oppenheimer,"</a> which premiered in theaters <a href="https://www.insider.com/barbenheimer-double-feature-movie-theater-memes-2023-7">on the same day.</a>The marketing certainly paid off because "Barbie" had <a href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-greta-gerwig-box-office-largest-opening-wonder-woman-director-2023-7">the biggest opening weekend of 2023 at the US box office.</a> Combined with "Oppenheimer," the two movies had the fourth-biggest collective box office turnout in US history, and the biggest turnout since the pandemic.According to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/barbie-box-office-oppenheimer-opening-1235541719/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>, in its opening weekend, "Barbie" grossed $155 million in the US, and $337 million globally.<a href="https://www.insider.com/is-barbie-movie-2023-for-kids-pg-13-rating-plot-details-language-2023-7">"Barbie"</a> is in theaters now.

'Barbie' reportedly had a $150 million marketing budget — more than the movie's actual budget

<ul><li>The "Barbie" movie could drive material upside for Mattel stock, according to Goldman Sachs.</li><li>The bank increased its Mattel price target to $24 as estimates suggest more than $150 million in ticket sales this weekend.</li><li>These are the three reasons why Goldman expects the movie to drive financial upside for Mattel.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/mat-stock">Mattel</a> stock is poised to benefit in a big way from the expected success of the "Barbie" movie, according to a Thursday note from <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gs-stock">Goldman Sachs.</a>The movie, starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, is expected to beat <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-christopher-nolan-oppenheimer-atomic-bomb-trinity-test-no-cgi-2023-7">Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer"</a> and become the number one movie in America this weekend.Domestic box-office forecasts for the "Barbie" debut range from as low as $75 million, which is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-barbie-oppenheimer-showdown-1235538910/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a conservative estimate from producer Warner Brothers,</a> to as high as $159 million, according to projections from <a href="https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-box-office-forecast-barbie-and-oppenheimer-tracking-to-combine-for-potential-200m-opening-combo-as-barbenheimer-phenom-takes-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BoxOffice Pro</a>. The <a href="https://www.insider.com/barbie-movie-review-2023-7">movie has positive reviews</a> with a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Mattel <a href="https://www.insider.com/mattel-barbie-movie-toys-hasbro-relaunches-furby-2023-7">is set to benefit from the "Barbie" movie's success</a> as a strong performance at the box office could translate into higher sales of Barbie products and lead the company to develop more content tied to its intellectual property.Goldman Sachs raised its Mattel price target to $24, representing potential upside of 13% from current levels. These are the three factors that could help Mattel benefit from the potential success of the "Barbie" movie. <h3>1. Licensing opportunities</h3>While Mattel is set to collect licensing fees directly from the movie's box-office sales, it also has inked new licensing deals for various products that should help boost its licensing revenue."Mattel has engaged in dozens of partnerships that license the Barbie brand to popular consumer retail companies in order to elevate awareness and enthusiasm among consumers well beyond the traditional doll," Goldman Sachs analyst Stephen Laszczyk said. "We believe that Mattel is collecting licensing fees from each brand for the right to license the Barbie logo/imagery for their own products. We estimate that typical licensing fees of this nature range from 10% to 20% of product revenues."<h3>2. Lower marketing costs for Barbie brand</h3>"The enthusiasm around the Barbie film from both social media and the press has generated similar enthusiasm for these licensed consumer products, and consequently for the more classic Barbie toys Mattel sells directly. We believe this potentially reduces the need for Mattel to advertise its products in the near-to-medium-term," Laszczyk said.<h3>3. Increased toy sales</h3>The satirical nature and PG-13 rating of the "Barbie" movie suggest it is mostly targeting adults, not young kids, which means Mattel may not benefit from a big sales boost for its toys. But..."We believe that toy sales will benefit from a 'halo effect' over the medium-to-longer-term as adults, who may gain a renewed affinity for the brand because of the movie, become more inclined to gift Barbie with the next occasion. As a result, we believe that it is more likely that Barbie's seasonal sales cycle is amplified as a result of the movie rather than altered by a near-term spike in demand," Laszczyk said.A bonus reason exists for Mattel stock to benefit from the "Barbie" movie, and that's the possibility of Mattel licensing more of its intellectual property for content creation, according to the note. Mattel's Hot Wheels toy line already has a movie in the works, being produced by J.J. Abrams with an expected release date in 2025.

3 ways the Barbie movie could drive more upside for Mattel stock as weekend box-office projections top $150 million

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"Fireball," a new <keyword id="35012" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="documentary">documentary</keyword> about meteors directed by <keyword id="229916" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Werner-Herzog">Werner Herzog</keyword> and Clive Oppenheimer, premiered Friday on Apple TV+. </li><li>The documentary explores the role that <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> rocks have played in shaping the world's history.</li></ul>On November 7, 1492, a fiery space rock whistled through the sky. It rocketed into a wheat field near the town of Ensisheim, in modern-day France, punching a hole 3 feet deep into the soil. A young boy was its only witness, according to historical accounts. Ensisheim at that point was the headquarters of Austrian troops. Just weeks after the meteor's arrival, the Austrian military commander, King Maximilian, came to the town on his way to battle the French. Upon learning about the impact, Maximilian declared it to be a sign of divine favor – and the town believed him.<div type="image" title="Fireball_Photo_0102" height="2592" width="4608" msid="79225919" hostid="261"></div>"For those people, wonderful supernatural signs in the heavens were messages," Professor Simon Schaffer, of Cambridge University, says in <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fireball-visitors-from-darker-worlds/umc.cmc.4kxqi7mmx247xjrdfll0lsme1?at=1000lDR&amp;itscg=MC_20000&amp;itsct=atvp_brand_omd&amp;mttnagencyid=1625&amp;mttncc=US&amp;mttngadurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftv.apple.com%2Fus%2Fmovie%2Ffireball-visitors-from-darker-worlds%2Fumc.cmc.4kxqi7mmx247xjrdfll0lsme1%3F&amp;mttngmo=&amp;mttnmyad=472470645547&amp;mttnmysite=uqa99n2zg0&amp;mttnpid=305109&amp;mttnsiteid=143238&amp;mttnsub1=b&amp;mttnsub2=c&amp;mttnsub3=s4kLbwLsc_472470645547_uqa99n2zg0_c&amp;mttnsubad=OUS2019882-1&amp;mttnsubadgpname=kwd-296703568482&amp;mttnsubadgpref=115212621070&amp;mttnsubadref=&amp;mttnsubcmp=11352840452&amp;mttnsubkw=%2Bfireball&amp;mttnsubpid=g&amp;mttnsubplmnt=;mttnsubcmp=11352840452&amp;mttnsubkw=%2Bfireball&amp;mttnsubpid=g&amp;mttnsubplmnt=">"Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds," a new documentary</a> from filmmaker Werner Herzog about meteorites. "This was, as it were, an email sent from God to the subjects of Maximilian to tell them that his rule was legitimate, that he'd defeat his enemies, and that they should obey his command."Herzog co-directed the documentary with British volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer. It premiered Friday on Apple TV+ and takes viewers on a sightseeing tour of some of the world's most historic meteorites and impact craters. The film also features the people who study these space rocks. This is the second documentary Herzog and Oppenheimer have made together; the previous one, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80066073">"Into the Inferno,"</a> was about volcanoes. With "Fireball," the pair hope to further elevate <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> through filmmaking."We always said, 'this has to be a new form,'" Herzog told Business Insider. "'We should depart from the National Geographic <keyword id="406" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Movies">movies</keyword>. Yes, they have very good stuff, but let's put it on a different level. This sense of awe, the raw excitement.'" <h2>'Stones that are falling from the heavens'</h2><div type="image" title="Fireball_Photo_0107" height="960" width="960" msid="79225920" hostid="261"></div>In the documentary, Herzog and Oppenheimer visit the Vatican, where a Jesuit priest named Brother Guy Consolmagno presides over an <a href="http://www.vaticanobservatory.va/content/specolavaticana/en/research/facilities/meteorite-collection.html">extensive meteorite collection</a>. The film also includes shaky footage of the Black Stone, a sacred rock in the city of Mecca that Muslims circle during their pilgrimages. It <a href="https://opentextbc.ca/astronomyopenstax/chapter/meteorites-stones-from-heaven/">might be a meteorite</a>, though researchers have not been allowed to study it. "We found footage shot by a Pilgrim on his cell phone," Herzog said of the footage shown. "Like metal particles attracted by a magnet, everybody's converging and screaming in this hustle, and jockeying for position for touching or kissing it. It's just phenomenal, phenomenal."Each scene in the film relates to the central premise: that wherever they've fallen, meteorites have shaped human political and religious life. "These are stones that are falling from the heavens," Oppenheimer told Business Insider. "This is some clue that the gods are intervening in human affairs."Of course, the documentary does not neglect Earth's most famous asteroid impact. About 66 million years ago, a giant space rock <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-struck-perfect-angle-to-doom-dinosaurs-study-2020-5">slammed into the Yucatán Peninsula</a> in modern-day Mexico with a force equivalent to millions of nuclear bombs. It triggered a mile-high tsunami, acidified the oceans, and released billions of tons of sulfur that blocked sunlight and cooled Earth. An estimated three quarters of all plant and animal species on Earth died as a result, including the dinosaurs. That mass extinction eventually paved the way for mammals to reign. "We probably wouldn't be here ourselves, Homo sapiens, as a species, were it not for this colossal impact," Oppenheimer says in the documentary. The impact crater is located near Chicxulub Puerto, which Herzog describes in the film as "a beach resort so godforsaken you want to cry."<h2>Tracking space rocks before they hit</h2>Asteroids at any time have the potential to impact the world's future, the new film reminds viewers. In the documentary's second half, Herzog and Oppenheimer visit the Pan-STARRS Operational Center in Hawaii, where astronomers scan rows of computer monitors for signs of asteroids that might become meteorites by entering Earth's atmosphere.<div type="image" title="Fireball_Photo_0104" height="2688" width="4032" msid="79225921" hostid="261"></div>Of the 25 million bits and chunks of space debris that become meteors, most burn up in the atmosphere. Even most of the ones that land, becoming meteorites, are too tiny to make much of an impact either. If the Pan-STARRS team does detect a large asteroid, their options then depends on its size. The group could likely warn people living in the asteroid's path. But a very large space rock — say a few kilometers in diameter — could crash with the force of the Chicxulub asteroid, and escape would be impossible.Programs like Pan-STARRS also don't catch everything; NASA's scanning program, for instance, detected less than half of all <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-detection-mission-neocam-nasa-funding-astronaut-support-2018-11">"city killer" asteroids</a> larger than about 460 feet wide in 2019. If the Hawaiian observatory detected an asteroid heading toward the US, Herzog said, he knows how he'd spent his last few hours: "I would start shooting a movie."

Werner Herzog's new film, 'Fireball,' explores the power and mystery of meteorites

<ul class="summary-list"><li>SAG-AFTRA warned striking actors to not wear Halloween costumes inspired by "struck content."</li><li>The actors' union said its members should instead choose more generic looks, like "ghost" and "spider."</li></ul>Striking actors might need to get a little more creative than usual for their Halloween costumes this year — or just dust off those old cat ears. SAG-AFTRA — the union that represents over 160,000 actors and entertainment workers who have now been striking for almost 100 days — <a href="https://www.sagaftrastrike.org/post/halloween-guidance-from-sag-aftra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent out new guidance this week</a> on what costumes members can and can't wear for Halloween."We wanted to make sure our members don't inadvertently break strike rules, and have put together some quick tips on the dos and don'ts for costumes," the union wrote in an infographic. SAG-AFTRA urged its members to avoid costumes inspired by "struck content," which would include popular movie and TV characters owned by companies the union is battling, like Disney or Warner Bros.That means that popular costumes like Barbie, Oppenheimer, Wednesday Adams, and even Marvel characters, are off the table. Instead, striking members should opt for more generic costumes like "ghost, zombie, spider, etc." or "characters from non-struck media like animated TV shows," the union said. "Don't post photos of costumes inspired by struck content to social media," SAG-AFTRA said. "Let's use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract."

New union rules means striking actors are going to have to get creative for their Halloween costumes this year

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This year's hot girl summer was led by the women who propped up the US economy.</li><li>It's about to come to a crushing end as pandemic-era federal aid expires.</li></ul>This year's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hot-girl-summer-inflation-taylor-swift-beyonce-barbie-economy-2023-8">hot girl summer</a> was dominated by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/guides/style/tomato-girl-summer-trend-clothes">tomato</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vogue.com/article/hailey-bieber-strawberry-girl-summer-gma-rhode-krispy-kreme">strawberry</a> aesthetics, "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/girl-dinner-meal-trend-tiktok-controversy-nutritionist-2023-7">girl dinner</a>," and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/girl-math-personal-finance-trend-goes-viral-tiktok-2023-8">girl math</a>."And then, of course, there was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyonce-renaissance-tour-listening-only-no-view-tickets-2023-8">Beyoncé</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-taylor-swift-tickets-regret-spending-eras-ticketmaster-stubhub-2022-11">Taylor Swift</a>, and "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hot-girl-summer-inflation-taylor-swift-beyonce-barbie-economy-2023-8">Barbie</a>," all credited with massive boosts in spending and even propping up the economy.Together, those women's tours and that movie — plus the premiere of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," which opened on the same day as "Barbie" — are projected to add <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-24/taylor-swift-led-summer-seen-adding-8-5-billion-to-us-growth?srnd=economics-v2">$8.5 billion to US output</a> in the third quarter of this year, Bloomberg Economics reported.Plus, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-are-working-at-record-highs-2023-8">women are working</a> at record levels. For just the third time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting the data, women make up half of the workforce.But what felt like a celebration of what women could achieve is coming to a crushing end, and we could see an exodus of women from the workforce this fall.That's due to the expiration on September 30 of nearly $24 billion in federal funds, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affordable-childcare-problem-is-going-to-get-worse-2022-12">helped keep childcare services afloat</a> for the past two years. The biggest investment in childcare since World War II was part of the American Rescue Plan of 2021.The funding's end could result in the shuttering of more than 70,000 childcare programs and leave about 3.2 million kids without childcare services, the nonprofit think tank The Century Foundation estimated.That's because much of the funding was used to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affordable-childcare-problem-is-going-to-get-worse-2022-12">increase wages for the workers at childcare centers</a>. Without the funding, providers will likely either have to cut employees' pay and hope their staff doesn't quit, or raise prices to keep workers and risk losing customers.That would detrimentally, and disproportionately, affect women.For starters, the closures would drive many women to leave the workforce so they could tend to their kids, since <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm">women perform most of the caregiving</a> in America, according to data from the Labor Department.Look at 2020 as an example. In a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/women-work-and-family-during-covid-19-findings-from-the-kff-womens-health-survey/">one in 10 women with children</a> under 18 said they quit their jobs in 2020, and half of this group said school closures were one of the reasons. The study polled 3,661 women and 1,144 men between November 19, 2020, and December 17, 2020.Simultaneously, if childcare centers closed, working women would bear the brunt — in a 2020 report, the National Women's Law Center found that <a target="_blank" href="https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ChildCareWorkersFS.pdf">95% of childcare workers were women</a>.Parents, experts, and lawmakers have previously told Insider how vital childcare is to working parents. Without it, many leave jobs so they can take care of their children.A June report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a philanthropic organization, found that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parents-are-quitting-struggling-at-work-because-of-childcare-crisis-2023-6">13% of children ages 5 and younger</a> had seen their families contend with job changes because of issues with childcare."Too many of those raising children are unable to secure care that is compatible with work schedules and commutes," Lisa Hamilton, the president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said in the report."When parents can't find affordable, quality child care in their community, it's a nonstop <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/childcare-deserts-labor-shortage-infrastructure-affordable-childcare-working-parents-2021-11">financial and logistical burden</a> for the whole family — and I hear about this so often from parents who are stressed and small business owners who've had their 'help wanted' signs up for way longer than they'd like," Sen. Patty Murray, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2-democratic-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-make-childcare-affordable-2021-4">longtime affordable-childcare proponent</a>, said in a statement to Insider.While Democratic lawmakers are pushing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-want-to-stop-end-of-expanded-childcare-2023-9">legislation to solve this problem</a>, it lacks Republican support and faces a difficult battle in Congress.

Hot girl summer is about to come to a crashing halt, and winter is coming for women

<ul class="summary-list"><li>B.J. Novak is behind Chain, an immersive dining experience that pays tribute to chain restaurants. </li><li>He joined forces with film producer Nicholas Kraft and Michelin-starred chef Tim Hollingsworth.</li></ul>As my boyfriend and I walked through a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://eatatchain.com/">Chain</a> pop-up in honor of Jack in the Box, I saw his eyes light up. He had spotted a T-shirt with a little ice-cream cone over by the merch corner, explaining it was the logo for Friendly's — a chain he remembered from his childhood in Boston.This, I later learned, is the same way "The Office" star B.J. Novak explained Friendly's to film producer Nicholas Kraft when they were launching Chain, an immersive dining experience that has become the hottest ticket in Los Angeles. Chain pays tribute to these restaurants with new interpretations of their most iconic dishes, which are created by Michelin-starred chef Tim Hollingsworth."Friendly's is something B.J. grew up with, and he literally lights up when he talks about it," Kraft said. "You can feel the excitement."I hadn't told Kraft the story about my boyfriend, but clearly, I didn't have to. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-chains-vintage-photos-history-2023-12">Chains have been an integral part of American culture</a> for decades, tying us together across states, generations, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rich-poor-americans-mix-most-chains-applebees-olive-garden-2023-8">and income brackets</a> through the power of affordable family dinners and nostalgia.We might not be watching the same TV shows or movies anymore, but we can all bond over the collective memory of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/olive-garden-vs-red-lobster-which-is-better-review-2024-1">Olive Garden</a> breadsticks, an Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion, or a late-night <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-new-menu-items-review-2023-12">Taco Bell</a> Crunchwrap Supreme.This shared love has helped turn Chain into a hit with everyone from foodies to celebrities. When I recently checked out Chain's first food festival in Los Angeles, I spotted Mindy Kaling while stuffing my face with an homage to a Red Robin burger, caught a glimpse of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen while waiting for my Chili's-inspired margarita, and shared a table with Rachel Bilson as we chowed down on our tribute to Dunkin' Donuts.<div type="image" title="John Legend and Chrissy Teigen at ChainFest in December." height="1333" width="2000" msid="106583660" hostid="261" sizebytes="219094"></div>And lest you think this is an influencer-driven event for Instagram clicks, Kraft told me Chain never pays anyone to show up or post about their events."Anyone of note who shows up, they're there for the same reason anyone is there. This stuff resonates," he said. "A lot of this stuff is connected to childhood. Chrissy was once just a young girl in Seattle enjoying Red Robin."So how did it all start? Let's go back to the beginning for just a moment.<h2>It all started in a parking lot</h2>Novak first came up with the idea to open a restaurant that paid homage to popular American chains in 2018. He mentioned the concept to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/phil-rosenthal-best-pork-chop-recipe-da-arturo-italian-restaurant-2023-3">Phil Rosenthal — of "Somebody Feed Phil" fame</a> — who introduced Novak and Kraft to Chef Hollingsworth, who runs Otium in downtown LA and began his cooking career at Thomas Keller's revered Napa restaurant The French Laundry, which holds three Michelin stars.<div type="image" title="Nicholas Kraft, BJ Novak, Chef Tim Hollingsworth at Chain Event" height="1333" width="2000" msid="106583661" hostid="261" sizebytes="228618"></div>"The thing we all shared at that meal was an appreciation for New Americana dining," Kraft told me. "We all came up on different chain restaurants and, from a very authentic place, we all got excited about them.""More than anything, food is about connecting people and bringing new people together," he added. "And we all appreciated that no one has brought more people together around food than Chili's, or Pizza Hut, or Jack in the Box."So, the trio began turning their Chain dream into a reality. Hollingsworth developed the recipes, production designer Ruth De Jong (whose credits include "Yellowstone" and "Oppenheimer") was brought on to help with the interior, and John Mayer designed the logo."John's official title is our graphic design intern," Kraft said with a laugh. "It's an unpaid position, but it's great exposure for him."<div type="image" title="John Mayer and Andy Cohen at ChainFest" height="2457" width="2000" msid="106583662" hostid="261" sizebytes="517840"></div>But then the pandemic began in March 2020, and any hope of connecting people disappeared as nationwide lockdowns went into effect."Every restaurant in the world shut down, and we were like, you know, this is probably not the moment to open a restaurant," Kraft recalled.Fast-forward a year later, and everyone still loved the idea of Chain. Plus, they didn't want Hollingsworth's hard work to go to waste. So, in March 2021, they decided to do a pop-up in a parking lot. Instead of a whole menu, they served just one dish — Hollingsworth's interpretation of the Bloomin' Onion. The concept was an instant hit.<div type="image" title="Chef Tim Hollingsworth's homage to Jack in the Box." height="1335" width="2000" msid="106583663" hostid="261" sizebytes="123788"></div>"It was really just 50 friends and a folding table in a borrowed parking lot with a borrowed kitchen," Kraft said. "We thought people would just get their food and leave, but it turned into a really fun tailgate. Everyone wanted to talk about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/review-is-outback-steakhouse-worth-it-for-family-2023-8">Outback Steakhouse</a> and their memories of going to chains.""It very quickly became a communal experience that we would do just for fun every few months as we contemplated what it meant to start a food company in a post-pandemic world," he added. "But what was very clear from these pop-ups is there's something very special about serving a single meal at a time and making it an event."<div type="image" title="Chef Tim Hollingsworth" height="1125" width="2000" msid="106583664" hostid="261" sizebytes="93140"></div><h2>Using nostalgic memories to breathe new life into iconic dishes</h2>Hollingsworth picks one or two specific dishes from a chain to highlight for each event — like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-mcdonalds-mcrib-cult-favorite-menu-item-photos-2022-10">McDonald's McRib</a>, Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme, or the tiny tacos from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/snoop-dogg-new-meal-at-jack-in-the-box-2023-7">Jack in the Box</a>. He elevates his creations by using high-quality ingredients, but the point isn't to plop some caviar on top and call it a day."I can put lobster in a Crunchwrap Supreme, but then it has nothing to do with Taco Bell," Hollingsworth said. "Chain is very much about tribute and highlighting what the dishes are and making them in the best way that we can. It's really about creating a bite that transports you back."Hollingsworth often turns to his nostalgic memories when he needs inspiration for recreating a dish, like the pan pizzas from Pizza Hut.<div type="image" title="Chain's Pizza Hut creations" height="1080" width="1920" msid="106583665" hostid="261" sizebytes="163962"></div>"When I was making it, I was pulling it from a memory of me as a child being stuck in a Pizza Hut in Texas because there was a flash flood," Hollingsworth tells me. "I remembered the video games and the salad bar and the smell of that buttery pan-size pizza.""That was my moment, and that's what I wanted to recreate," he added. "It's really about making a brand-new memory that transports you back to your childhood."Sometimes, the team at Chain immediately nails the flavor. Other times, like with the Crunchwrap Supreme, it could take 30 different versions before they crack it. But going on that journey is why Kraft and Hollingsworth love their work."Hundreds of millions of people have had Jack in the Box's deep-fried tacos and have a very strong opinion about them," Kraft said. "So how do you create something that's an homage and hits those nostalgic buttons but is still different? That, to me, is so much of the magic, and I think it's what blows a lot of people away."Chain now partners with all the brands they pay tribute to, collaborating "creatively and culinarily," as Kraft puts it, while the Chain team executes the final result."I think the reason that a lot of these places want to work with us is because they understand that we are just fans, and this all comes from a place of love and not from a place of irony," Kraft added. "We love this stuff. We just sort of want to do our fan fiction of what Chili's is, or what Taco Bell is, or what Pizza Hut is."<div type="image" title="Chain's Crunchwrap Supreme" height="915" width="1373" msid="106583667" hostid="261" sizebytes="144990"></div><h2>The comeback of chain restaurants</h2>Chain has blown up since that first parking lot pop-up, now boasting a 25,000-person waitlist awaiting texts to sign up for new events, which are held about once a month in a West Hollywood house designed by De Jong.To try and meet high demand, the team launched its first ChainFest in December. Billed as the world's first chain food festival, the three-day event featured new dishes from Hollingsworth that paid tribute to Panda Express, Sonic, Chili's, Dunkin', and Red Robin, among others. The $75 tickets sold out immediately. On the second night, 600 people were inside within 30 minutes of the doors opening, and a line snaked around Los Angeles' famous Sunset Boulevard."We're constantly amazed by the fervor for chain-restaurant cuisine and culture," Kraft said. "Chain really is a belief that these are important cultural institutions, because they resonate with hundreds of millions of people."<div type="image" title="Nicholas Kraft and Chef Tim Hollingsworth chatting with Finneas at the Chain House in West Hollywood." height="1333" width="2000" msid="106583668" hostid="261" sizebytes="254936"></div>Meanwhile, chains are staging their own major comeback. As an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eater.com/23922472/casual-chain-restaurants-comeback-applebees-melting-pot-olive-garden">Eater</a> article recently noted, business is booming at restaurants such as Olive Garden, Applebee's, and Texas Roadhouse."Ironically, since we started Chain, these chain restaurants have had sort of this resurgence," Hollingsworth said. "I feel like we were even ahead of the curve. And it's working out in our favor that everyone's talking about them at the same time."How did a comedian, film producer, and Michelin-starred chef help predict the resurgence of chain restaurants? Well, they've seen firsthand how the death of the monoculture has left Americans seeking to find real connections wherever they can."It's the same reason why every movie star is 40 or 50 years old, and there's no such thing as a young movie star," Kraft said. "It's become so hard to capture the attention and interest of a massive amount of people, but chain restaurants have been around for 50 or 60 years. That's many generations of consistently offering good memories.""Chains are the great democratizer, and they're so universal, and that's part of the fun," he added. "How rare is it in our culture to connect so many people — and so joyously?"

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