Barbenheimer may have brought a double-feature sized weekend to the box offices, but when it comes to buzz on podcasts there is a clear winner between the two hit movies. While Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” beat out Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” in ticket sales during the first weekend, Podcasher says it was the star-filled World War Two-era story that generated more talk on podcasts.
Using Podchaser data, the podcast database found that “Oppenheimer” was mentioned 4,020 times in the week surrounding opening weekend (July 15-22), compared to 3,021 mentions of “Barbie.” To come up with the number, Podchaser transcribed the top 5,000 English-language podcasts and tracked all podcast episodes that included “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer” in the episode title or description. The result is that while all things Barbie may seem inescapable, the weightier story of the development of the atomic bomb has infiltrated more podcast conversations around the globe.
“Podcasts are a real barometer of the cultural zeitgeist. Everyone has seen the incredible marketing efforts of the ‘Barbie’ team. Still, it’s ‘Oppenheimer’ that seems to be getting podcasters talking,” said Dave Keine, Chief Product Officer at Podchaser. “One reason for this may be that ‘Oppenheimer’ – as a biopic and related to real-life events - can penetrate more genres of the podcast, from history to science and even technology alongside entertainment and culture podcasts.”