SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Reveals All! Here's The Order He Plans To See Barbie And Oppenheimer

Both Greta Gerwig's ultra-pink, kid-friendly fantasy "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's terse biography "Oppenheimer" will be released on July 21, 2023. One promises to be a fluffy look at one of the most popular toy products ever made, while still interrogating the negative impact it had on the world. The other will be a deep look into the mind of a man whose brilliance and engineering acumen created one of the most deadly weapons ever conceived by humankind. The audiences for the two films could not be more different. 

Or could they? Enterprising cineastes the world over have been intrigued by both Gerwig's and Nolan's movies, and delight in the bizarre juxtaposition of the two being counterprogrammed in theaters against one another. As such, one might find that some audience members fully intend to go to their local multiplex on July 21 and construct one of the most jarring double features imaginable. The term "Barbenheimer" has become a minor meme in recent months, happily blending the two prospective film experiences into one. One can even find Barbenheimer t-shirts on Etsy.

Of course, the question remains: which film does one watch first? Do you start with a frothy, lighthearted romp, have a drink, and then contemplate the destruction of the Earth via nuclear bomb? Or does one start with the longer, headier film, and chase it with something colorful?

One notable fan asking this question is Tom Cruise, star of "Taps" and "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One." He, like many of us, intends to see "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on their opening weekend. He also, as he revealed in a recent interview with Variety, has a plan of action.

Cruise, it seems, has no plans to marathon both films on the same day. Gerwig's "Barbie" is a surprisingly long 114 minutes, while Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is a hefty 180 minutes. Add in a 15-minute break for coffee, as well as the typical theater's coming attractions reels, and that's about six straight hours at the theater. This is not feasible for viewers who have day jobs or require babysitters. Cruise is likely a busy guy — his own new action blockbuster will be playing in theaters alongside "Barbenheimer" — so he'll be splitting up the experiences. His plan: 

"I want to see both 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer.' I'll see them opening weekend. Friday, I'll see Oppenheimer' first and then 'Barbie' on Saturday."

Fine. A hefty movie for a Friday night, then a Saturday matinee to unwind. This is as good a plan as any. 

How one orders "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" may well depend on your disposition. If one wants to leave the theater in a hopeful mood, pondering that little kids can take hope from their toys and construct identities for themselves, then finish with "Barbie." If one prefers to leave a theater with a great weight on their brain, contemplating how humankind's implied promise of a grand technological future was ultimately betrayed by the construction of an atomic bomb, then definitely finish with "Oppenheimer." Personally, I would skew toward the latter. Either way, I'd be interested to hear reviews from people — including Cruise — who tried doubling up. 

It's been theorized that any two films, when watched back-to-back, seem to share a thematic link. Perhaps the link would be different if "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were watched in a certain order. 

How would you construct a Barbenheimer double feature?