Barbie is headed to IMAX with new post-credits footage

After months of controversy over Oppenheimer’s too-brief (and eventually extended) window in IMAX theaters, and the question of who was going to get to see it in “true” IMAX and who would have to settle for various forms of “LieMAX,” the other half of the Barbenheimer pairing is now sliding in to take over where Oppenheimer Left off. Warner Bros. announced Thursday that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie will play in IMAX theaters for one week starting on Sept. 22 — now with “additional, never-before-seen post-credit footage.”

It’s unclear at this time how much new footage will be featured in the new cut, and whether it will be a complete post-credits scene, or just a collection of outtakes. The theatrical version of BarbieThere is no post-credits. Warner Bros. said Gerwig selected new material from the footage already shot, but did not provide any further information.

This isn’t the first time a movie has headed back to theaters with new footage added: Back in 2004, Napoleon Dynamite entered wide theatrical release with an additional five-minute post-credits scene that wasn’t part of the initial film-festival cut or the limited theatrical release. Eight months after the theatrical debut of 2021’s Spider-Man No Way HomeThe movie returned to the theaters in 2022, with an updated post-credits and additional footage. And the 2022 theatrical re-release of James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar Add teaser video for the sequel. Avatar : The Way of Water.

The studios that were behind the expansions appeared to want to encourage repeat viewings by fans of the films in question. They needed an incentive to go back and watch them again.

It’s not that simple Barbie really needs the extra business: It’s currently on track to become the highest-grossing movie of 2023, passing Super Mario Bros. MovieIn the first slot. The only question now is, will fans keep dressing up in fancy Barbie-themed outfits if they go see the movie’s IMAX run?