AwardsWatch Podcast #194: The ‘Barbenheimer’ Episode
On episode 194 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Zach Laws, Kevin L. Lee and Jay Ledbetter to review the two biggest movies of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Barbenheimer is upon us! As audiences are selling out theaters around the world, it has become one of the most successful weekends in history of cinema. With this, the AW team takes a deep dive into the two most hyped films in a long time, starting with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie followed by Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. A candy color dreamscape comedy and a three-hour historical epic about the making of the atomic box take center stage as Ryan, Erik, Zach, Kevin, and Jay go into what the liked about each film and if they struggled with any aspects of the film.
After the teams very in-depth and length reviews, they take a look at the 2023 Summer Box Office Draft and notice that Team Erik has gain some ground on Team Ryan, as we make our way into the final month of the summer. Moving on from there, the team answer some listener questions that included what they thought the Oscar chances were for both films, who the hottest Barbie and Ken was in the film, which Gerwig film was their favorite, and a fun game involving which director-actor pair they would’ve love to have seen taken on the story of Oppenheimer like Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy.
You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.
This podcast runs 3h12m. It is a long episode but worth it to talk about the cinematic event of the decade. We will be back next week doing an Oscar retrospective over the 66th Academy Awards that covered the films of 1993. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 342: Reviewing ‘Mother Mary’ - April 20, 2026
- On the Shelf: ‘Send Help,’ ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,’ ‘Die My Love,’ “Sleepers,’ and ‘Point Blank’ Highlight the 4K Physical Media releases for the Week of April 20 - April 20, 2026
- Interview: Director David Lowery on How ‘The Red Shoes,’ Taylor Swift, and Artistic Internal Struggles Were Forged to Conjure Up ‘Mother Mary’ [AUDIO] - April 15, 2026

Gerran Howell on Whitaker’s Growth in Season Two of ‘The Pitt,’ Dr. Robby’s Intentions, and His Go-To Karaoke Song [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
‘Leviticus’ Review: Adrian Chiarella Conjures a Timely and Biblically Scary Gay Horror Story [A-]
2026 Cannes: Short Film and La Cinef Titles Announced
2026 Tribeca Festival TV Lineup Announced: Season Two Premieres of ‘Adults,’ ‘X-Men ’97’ and More