Zack Snyder Argues Rebel Moon Beat Barbie In One Key Way - And He May Be Right

Director Zack Snyder caused a bit of a stir when he appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" on March 6. During the two-hour-plus interview, Snyder claimed that the first part of his Netflix-exclusive two-part science fiction epic, "Rebel Moon," has already surpassed a major milestone — it's been seen by more people than "Barbie," which blew everyone away at the box office, pulling in over $1 billion worldwide.

"You think about Netflix, for instance, where you push a button. 'Rebel Moon' ... Say right now, it's almost at 90 million views ... 80 or 90 million accounts turned it on, give or take. They assume two viewers per screening ... That's the kind of math. So you think if that movie was in the theater as a distribution model, that's like 160 million people supposedly watching based on that math. 160 million people at $10 a ticket would be ... what is that math? I don't know. 160 million times 10. That's 1.6 billion. So more people probably saw 'Rebel Moon' than saw 'Barbie' in the theater," said Snyder. 

By that metric, Snyder appears to be entirely correct. Of course, it all depends on how many people were in the room when each viewing of "Rebel Moon" took place, so the total may be even larger or smaller than that. But it's still a huge accomplishment, and Snyder praised Netflix for making such an opportunity available for original IPs. 

While fans of both films took to the internet to argue over Snyder's methodology, there's no rivalry afoot in Zack Snyder's dream house. He had nothing but nice things to say about "Barbie," even though the film contains a joke told at his expense.

Zack Snyder told Joe Roganthat he got a kick from Barbie's Snyderverse joke. During the podcast, he recalled the moment to Rogan — an exchange in which Writer Barbie (Alexandra Shipp) says of life living under a patriarchy led by Ken, "It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the 'Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League.'"

Snyder had a sense of humor about the line's placement, and his wife even got a laugh out of the situation. "That is a line in that movie, [and] that's awesome. My wife was like, 'That's cool, right? That's cool that they came after you.' I was like, that's 100% cool." He doesn't seem to Gerwig's blockbuster as an enemy but as a rubric by which success may be measured.

Furthermore, in a December 2023 interview with Men's Health Magazine, Snyder said he not only knew the joke was coming thanks to a warning from Warner Bros. CEO Michael DeLuca, but he understood it was more about the fandom itself than the film he'd produced. "I thought [Barbie] was great and I think the joke is pretty good," he said.

Doll-based rivalries aside, fans waiting for the next part of the "Rebel Moon" again are in luck. "Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver" will be released on Netflix on April 19.