Posters for "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are displayed outside the Benny Decker Theater at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Two anticipated summer blockbusters are opening on the same day in the United States, including on some overseas U.S. military bases, and the internet is making the most of it.
“Barbenheimer” — a phenomenon in which moviegoers plan to see both “Barbie and “Oppenheimer” on the same day as a double feature — is sweeping social media.
The pairing is an absurd yin and yang.
“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig breathes life into plastic playthings Barbie and Ken via actors Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. “Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, tells of the rise and fall of J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, portrayed by Cillian Murphy.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as Barbie and Ken in "Barbie." (Warner Bros.)
Cillian Murphy stars and J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, in "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures)
More than 40,000 AMC Stubs members had purchased tickets for a double feature of both films as of Thursday, according to an AMC Theaters press release.
The movies open this weekend, starting Friday in the United States and at base theaters worldwide. Overseas bases where the films are showing back-to-back include Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Friday evening and Camp Humphreys — the U.S. Army garrison in South Korea — on Friday and Saturday.
At Yokota, the U.S. airlift hub in western Tokyo, the films play on separate days, but the concept endures.
Air Force Capt. Lawrence Duncan, of the 374th Airlift Wing, said he plans on seeing both the films this weekend. The base theater will show “Oppenheimer” at 7 p.m. Friday and “Barbie” at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“I find humor in the contrast between the two movies and the difference in the audiences coming together,” he told Stars and Stripes via Facebook Messenger on Thursday.
“Barbenheimer” also intrigues Air Force spouse Lena Redwalker.
“I wanted to do a back-to-back of the films,” she said via Facebook Messenger on Thursday. “’Oppenheimer’ in the morning followed by brunch and mimosas, ‘Barbie’ in the evening. I really wanted to follow that schematic.”
Redwalker said she’ll settle for viewing both movies over two days.
“It’s kind of insane to think the two potential juggernauts coming out on the same day,” she said. “It also helps that ‘Barbie’ seems to be feel good, witty and comedic, while ‘Oppenheimer’ will be much more depressing.”
At Yokota Air Base, the U.S. airlift hub in western Tokyo, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" play on separate days, but the "Barbenheimer" concept endures. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The movies coincidentally open in the midst of Hollywood writers and actors strikes. Murphy and his “Oppenheimer” co-stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt walked off the red carpet at the July 13 London premier as the event was underway. Robbie’s press tour for “Barbie” was suspended when the actors strike began July 14, according to Harper’s Bazaar online.
Actors and filmmakers in both films have joined the online phenomena.
Gerwig and Robbie shared photos with their pre-purchased opening night tickets for “Oppenheimer” in front of the “Oppenheimer” movie poster on the “Barbie” Twitter page.
Murphy, in a July 9 interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, said: "I can't wait to see Barbie. I love Margot Robbie, I love Ryan Gosling, I want to see them now.”
Moviegoing as a social media trend isn’t new. Trendy cinema buffs documented themselves attending “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” in costume, for example, on July 1, 2022.
“Barbie” opens Thursday in South Korea’s off-base theaters, Friday in Germany and Aug. 11 in Japan, according to movie website IMDb.com. “Oppenheimer” opens Friday in Germany, but, so far, has no scheduled opening date in South Korea or Japan, according to the website.
