‘Barbie’ tops ‘Oppenheimer’ with $22.3M at box office in previews
It’s a Barbie world and we’re all just living in it.
In the battle of Barbenheimer, only one major motion picture can rule the double feature — and she’s dazzling in pretty pink plastic.
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” raked in $22.3 million at the box office in previews, compared to $10.5 million garnered by “Oppenheimer” ahead of the films’ official debut on Friday, Variety reports.
Despite Gerwig’s fears that the hyper-feminine flick would end her career, “Barbie” has turned into a summer smash.
At the box office, the film out-performed the former record-holder “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which earned $17.5 million in previews in May.
The Post has reached out to representatives for Gerwig, 39, for comment.
“Barbie” is expected to reach $100 million at the box office in its opening weekend, while Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is only anticipated to haul half of that, an estimated $50 million, per Variety.
Eager audiences have long planned to view both back to back for a whopping five hours of screen time. Pre-purchased double-feature tickets soared over 20,000 earlier this month.
The two movies — which are ironically polar opposites of each other — have inspired T-shirts, memes and mock movie posters, as fans share their jam-packed weekend itineraries.
The dazzling Barbie Land picture from Warner Bros., which reportedly caused an international pink paint shortage, has captivated audiences with its vibrant, larger-than-life sets and doll costumes fashioned for humans.
Enthusiastic fans looked pretty in pink as they flocked to theaters, channeling their inner Mattel doll, strutting to cinemas saturated in rouge and flaunting blond hair extensions.
Some even transformed their homes into their very own Malibu Dream Houses ahead of the premiere.
When Barbiecore hit the mainstream last year, Mattel execs couldn’t contain their excitement for the rose ambush.
“BarbieCore is the summer’s latest fashion trend influencing everything from clothing to home decor, and we are here for it,” Kim Culmone, the senior vice president and global head of design Barbie and fashion dolls at Mattel Inc., told The Post last year.
“Fashion is a form of self-expression and BarbieCore celebrates living boldly and authentically.”
Culmone added: “It’s been delightful seeing celebrities decked out in their best pink looks — Barbie would approve.”
The fuchsia fever fantasy, rated 89% from Rotten Tomatoes, has been hailed as “smart” and “idea-packed” as it juggled vivacious entertainment and existential crises while playing into corporate underpinnings.
But Ryan Gosling’s hyperbolic “Kenergy” wasn’t one size fits all — some critics panned the movie as “woke” and “man-hating” due to its inherently feminist plot line that juxtaposes the ideas of patriarchy and women empowerment.
In recent years, Mattel’s Barbies have been slammed for promoting unrealistic female body expectations, despite being the doll that can do it all.
Barbie figurines are sold as doctors, businesswomen, fashionistas, teachers, presidents and more, but their tiny waistlines and disproportionately long legs have come under fire for fostering body issues in young girls.
Ahead of its premiere, the “Barbie” cast and crew kept the storyline under wraps, only teasing the fantastic, plastic and cinematic world of Barbie Land and the vague crisis Margot Robbie’s “Stereotypical Barbie” character endures.
Robbie isn’t the only Barbie pretty in pink — Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan and Alexandra Shipp portray various Barbie renditions and occupations.
There are also several versions of Ken, played by Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
The diversity, Robbie said, is what elicited her agreement to be in the blockbuster.
“I don’t think I would have wanted to attempt to make a Barbie film,” she told Time.
“I don’t think you should say, ‘This is the one version of what Barbie is, and that’s what women should aspire to be and look like and act like.’”
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