The Barbenheimer craze is happening again with The Bikeriders and Kinds of Kindness.

It’s almost been a year since fans experienced a major box-office face-off labeled as Barbenheimer, the clash between Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Now, it seems the public will have it again with Emma Stone’s Kinds of Kindness and Tom Hardy’s The Bikeriders.

Emma Stone in Kinds of Kindness / Searchlight Pictures

The latter two films are expected to premiere this week, and fans will have a treat to one crime thriller movie and one comedy drama. Somehow, this showdown is reminiscent of last year’s cinematic phenomenon.

Tom Hardy’s The Bikeriders Is Expected To Beat Emma Stone’s Kinds of Kindness At The Box Office

Fresh off from winning an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Poor Things, Emma Stone is back again with a new project, Kinds of Kindness, alongside Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, and Margaret Qualley, to name a few. Helmed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the story consists of three distinct but interconnected stories.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a 78% score from early reviewers. It also garnered many positive reactions from critics, citing the uniqueness and brilliance of Lanthimos’ storytelling prowess and the surreal filmmaking techniques he used.

The Bikeriders, on the other hand, stars an ensemble cast of Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, and Norman Reedus, among others. The crime drama film is directed by Jeff Nichols and it follows the rise of the Vandals MC, a Chicago outlaw motorcycle club.

Tom Hardy and Austin Butler in The Bikeriders / Universal Pictures

So far, it has an impressive 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that early reviewers enjoyed the movie. The majority of the comments focused on the grittiness of the drama and the study of the club culture. The movie, according to the reviews, is packed with powerful performances as well as emotional scenes.

Action thrillers usually have an edge when it comes to summertime releases. The opinions on early screenings are also helpful in building up the momentum of certain movies; in this case, The Bikeriders performed better than Kinds of Kindness.

As shared by Film Updates on Twitter, both titles are slated for a same-day release the way Oppenheimer and Barbie did last year. In all fairness, they both dominated the box office. Unlike Barbenheimer, The Bikeriders and Kinds of Kindness aren’t highly commercialized.

Advertisement

This poses a threat to Stone’s black comedy anthology film. It would need a better marketing strategy and more positive reviews in order to compel fans to go see it in movie theaters.

Fans Believe Another Barbenheimer Trend Is On The Way

Emma Stone in Kinds of Kindness / Searchlight Pictures

On Twitter, fans expressed their thoughts on this new “less fun version” of the Barbenheimer trend. One fan even labeled it as “Kindriders” while another assumed these films won’t make a lot of money. Indeed, the reactions are quite diverse! Check out their tweets below:

AdvertisementAdvertisement

Cinema is truly back in its game, and now that more movies are getting released month by month, competition cannot be avoided. However, this shows how enthusiastic the fans can be when it comes to their favorite actors and filmmakers.