Showroom Cinema weekend admissions triple with sold-out Barbie and Oppenheimer screenings

Ticket sales at Sheffield’s independent cinema, Showroom, were three times higher than usual last weekend following the releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer on Friday.

Both blockbusters hit the big screen on July 21, with many cinema-goers seeing the double bill in one day in a phenomenon nicknamed “Barbenheimer”.

Ryan Finnigan, Programme Manager at Showroom, said: “The past few days have been absolutely incredible. We have had really strong turnout, easily the best weekend we have had since covid.

“The audience have taken control of the cinema, they’ve been coming in in fancy dress, it’s just an electric atmosphere. It’s amazing to see.”

There were just over 2,800 total admissions to the Showroom Cinema last weekend, compared to a ‘good’ weekend which would usually be around 1,000. Multiple screenings since Friday have sold-out, including the parents and baby screening of Barbie on Monday.

The venue is selling two-for-£14 themed cocktails, Barbie Cosmopolitans and Oppenheimer Manhattans, and giving out free popcorn to anyone who buys a ticket for both films.

Ryan said: “We have tried to schedule it so people can do the Barbenheimer double bill, whichever you want to see first, we have catered for that.”

But which of the two blockbusters does Sheffield like best? With a run time of exactly three hours, the cinema cannot show Oppenheimer as many times each day as Barbie, which comes in at just under two hours.

Ryan said: “Oppenheimer has sold about two thirds the number of tickets as Barbie, but it has 30 percent less screenings, so it’s really fairly split here.

“People are emailing and asking how long Oppenheimer is going to be on for, because it’s not easy to fit into your day. Barbie has just taken the edge in terms of numbers, but it’s very tight between them.”

A total of 2,500 tickets have been bought for Barbie at Showroom, including upcoming screenings.

2,000 of those were bought on July 21 and 22 - and that is before you total up the number of people who buy on the door.

Ryan said: “We’re hoping to have another strong weekend for both, because a lot of people were at Tramlines this weekend.

"The time has not passed to do the double bill.”

Everyone aged 26 and under can get tickets to any screening at Showroom for £4.50 by signing up for a free CINE 26 membership online or in person.