Barbenheimer Barbie — Team *Barbie* represented on “Barbenheimer Day” in Alabama. (Lacey Spear / The Bama Buzz)

“What did you think about Barbie?”

“Did you see Oppenheimer?”

Questions like these have been buzzing around the US ever since “Barbenheimer Day,” Friday, July 21—premiere day for both Barbie and Oppenheimer premiered in theaters. Which one is trending more in Alabama? Keep reading to find out.

Barbie takes the lead throughout the state

Barbie Barbenheimer — The *Barbie* trend took Alabama by a pink storm. (Lacey Spear / The Bama Buzz)

We turned to Google Trends to compare Barbie versus Oppenheimer’s trendiness over the past week. Here are some fun things we discovered:

Barbie was the most trending movie in all Alabama cities—not one city searched “Oppenheimer” more than “Barbie” (although Fort Rucker came close with a 51% / 49% split).
Searches for “Barbie” hit peak popularity in Alabama on July 21 at 10PM—the night it premiered in theaters, of course!
Of all the high-volume search regions in Alabama, Auburn and Mountain Brook tied for the highest percent of “Oppenheimer” searches, taking 42% of the trendiness.

These numbers probably aren’t surprising—Barbie seems to be much buzzier than Oppenheimer. However, taking a look at this nation-wide map shows that Alabama’s Barbie bias isn’t a nationwide phenomenon.

FUN FACT: In 2008, 15 years ago, a similar phenomenon happened. The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! were released on the same weekend on July 18—just three days before this year’s “Barbenheimer Day.”

Our poll shows similar results

Screenshot 2023 07 26 At 12.20.50 Pm — These results weren’t surprising. (The Bama Buzz)

We asked our LinkedIn audience which movie they saw—or plan to see—of the Barbenheimer duo. The results were similar to what Google Trends revealed, but we also learned how many of you saw both (and neither).

I was surprised that 1 in 6 people fell in the “Both” category, but not surprised to see 1 in 3 people select Barbie. The poll is still open, and you can cast your vote (and give your thoughts!) here.