Sherlock vs. Sherlock: The Barbenheimer Metric

 It's January, that time of year that brings back memories of theatrical Sherlock Holmes movies releases for me. One that did well with the public, one that did not so well with the public. But both had an impact, and both lead actors, our Sherlocks, have had ongoing success as actors on the big screen.

Rarely do we see two of our screen Sherlocks, however, go head-to-head in other roles in movies released on the same weekend. And rarely do we see two screen Sherlocks in movies of comparable quality released on the same weekend. Yet in the summer of 2023, we did.

One saw a worldwide box office success of $1,441,528,220 dollars. The other $805,600,000. Our two Sherlock actors played a part in the biggest movie phenomenon of the whole year, and both were notable in their performance and, while not starring, playing key roles.

Those two actors: Robert Downey Jr., playing Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, and Will Ferrell, playing "Mattel CEO" in Barbie.

Yes, Robert Downey Jr. from 2009's Sherlock Holmes and Will Ferrell from 2018's Holmes and Watson. Both January movies that shall remain in my memory as ground-breaking Sherlockian films. Each has its haters among our ranks, but each brought something special and brought it to the big screen in the January's that followed their release.

And I don't want to be an internet troll here, except maybe to one friend in particular, but I'd like to point out that on the now famous Barbenheimer weekend, when two Sherlocks competed on screens everywhere, Will Ferrell's movie did better.

That is all. Happy January!