'US Card Spending Rises 1.9% Amid "Babenhaimer" Craze'

Last Week Entertainment Sector Spending Increased by 13.2%

The 'Babenheimer (Barbie + Oppenheimer)' craze is injecting vitality into the U.S. economy.

A scene from the movie 'Barbie'.

According to CNN in the U.S. on the 27th (local time), spending by Bank of America (BoA) cardholders, excluding gasoline, increased by 1.9% year-over-year during the week of the 16th to 22nd.

While spending decreased in many sectors such as online electronics, home repairs, furniture, and lodging, entertainment spending rose by 13.2%. Entertainment spending had only increased by 4.9% the previous week and had even declined compared to a year ago earlier this month.

BoA attributed the increase in entertainment spending last week to the popularity of Babenheimer. Babenheimer refers to the recently released movies 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer.'

BoA analyzed, "The releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer appear to have partially boosted entertainment spending, including at clothing stores."

Barbie earned $162 million (approximately 207 billion KRW) and Oppenheimer earned $82.5 million (approximately 106 billion KRW) during their opening weekends, dominating the box office. The two films, which target different main audiences, were released on the same day and generated greater-than-expected synergy, with the box office impact spreading to related industries such as dolls and character merchandise.

CNN analyzed, "This shows that consumers are cutting spending in other areas but are aggressively spending in specific sectors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.