Across cinemas from Pontio, North Wales to the heart of Birmingham, a sea of pink and black is taking shape. Barbie boxes decorate the snack stand ready for spontaneous photo opportunities, and ominous posters of Cillian Murphy embroiled in a fiery wreckage loom over those who are buying tickets. In Central London, things have been taken up a notch, with wannabe Barbies rollerskating to upbeat tunes with processco in hand and a swathe of cinema-goers dressed in muted charcoal tones and dusky pinks.
The cause is Barbenheimer Day, which for those who don’t know is the act of watching both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer consecutively on the day of their release. The idea has become something of a cultural phenomenon, with it being estimated that over 20,000 AMC Stubs members had bought for both films by 10th July alone. T-shirts have been made, schedules have been agonised over. Considering that the summer season has been reserved for all-out blockbusters, the anticipation shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. But what is it about these two films that has caused such a standalone wave of cinema-going?
