The Barbenheimer phenomenon (a hybrid of Barbie and Oppenheimer movie titles) has dominated pop culture for months now, and it’s only growing as both movies finally approach their July 21 premiere dates.
While fans went wild with memes, merchandise, and continuous social media commentary about the upcoming Box Office clash, the cast of the films loved the blockbuster battle between their films.
In fact, most of both projects’ casts have shared a lot of praise for their rivals on release day — though Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan has hinted he won’t be watching the other film at all amid his feud with Warner Bros.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the eponymous Barbie doll alongside her boyfriend Ken, played by Ryan Gosling.
Cashier collision! Barbie and Oppenheimer sharing the same release date has been openly embraced by the Barbie cast, and most Oppenheimer stars
Share your thoughts: Both film casts have been asked for their thoughts on the Barbenheimer fight hype that has flooded social media
The cast is a who’s who of Hollywood powerhouses, with Will Ferrell as Mattel’s CEO and Helen Mirren as the film’s narrator.
Compared to the bright and playful Barbie movie, Nolan’s Oppenheimer sees Cillian Murphy star as titular nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who created the atomic bomb during World War II.
Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Josh Hartnett and Sir Kenneth Branagh (who worked with Nolan on both Dunkirk and Tenet) are just a few of the big names who also star in the film.
When Greta was asked by The Hollywood Reporter to share her thoughts on the rivalry between Barbie and Oppenheimer, she replied, “It’s all love — doubling down, doubling up twice.”
“I think you have to see what the experience is, Barbie than Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer than Barbie. I think you should make all the trips.’
Issa Rae, who plays President Barbie, admitted to the publication, “I find the rivalry between Barbie and Oppenheimer hilarious; However, I love that there is solidarity where people tried to turn us against each other, but now it has turned into a dual function situation. Of course you have to see Oppenheimer first and then cleanse your palate with Barbie.’
She then explained why she insisted on seeing Nolan’s movie first, as she went on: Why would I want to depress my weekend… it’s about a nuclear bomb, people are dying.
“I want to end my weekend, I want mimosas and drinks and cocktails after Barbie, I don’t want to sulk.” That’s just my plan, I don’t know of anyone else. As long as you hang out with Barbie, I don’t care.’
Biggest supporters: Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig shared their love online by posing with Oppenheimer tickets
Showing Some Love: Cillian Murphy returned the favor using photoshop
As for Barbie herself, Margot Robbie showed her support while attending a fan event in Sydney, Australia.
In a video posted to Twitter by username @mjcookie, the actress was asked to sign a custom t-shirt featuring a photo of Robbie in her Barbie costume and cowboy hat intertwined with a black and white photo of Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer .
“Okay I need to sign it on this side and I hope you meet Cillian Murphy and he can sign the other side,” she joked.
Meanwhile, at the London premiere, the actress revealed she was tempted to make her own Barbenheimer shirt and get Cillian Murphy to sign it.
The reaction to Nolan’s Barbenheimer was significantly different. When asked if he has seen the rival film, he curtly replied ‘No’.
And it’s not likely the director will be watching the movie any time soon due to his recent clash with Warner Bros.
After releasing many of his hit movies with the movie studio, a dispute over the release of his 2020 movie, Tenet, caused him to part ways with the company.
According to Insidersources believe Nolan was upset that Warner Bros. Barbie was scheduled to release the same weekend as Oppenheimer.
Even Tom Cruise is one of many moviegoers excited about the July 21 double feature
He’s here for Barbenheimer! Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan thinks it’s a good thing his movie premieres on the same day as Barbie
He was reportedly unimpressed because mid-July has long been known in the movie world as Nolan’s weekend.
However, the director has publicly claimed so the competition is ‘great’.
“Summer, in a healthy market, is always busy, and we’ve been doing this for a long time,” Nolan said IGN.
“I think for those of us who care about movies, we really waited for there to be a busy market again, and now it’s here and that’s great.”
Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy also sees the double booking as positive.
‘I love it. I mean, I’m going to see Barbie, 100 percent. I can’t wait to see it,” he told IGN.
“I think it’s just great for the industry and audiences that we have two great movies by great filmmakers coming out on the same day. You could spend a whole day at the cinema, what could be more fun than that?’
When a photo of Gerwig and Margot posing with Oppenheimer tickets was shared online, Murphy returned the favor and posted an edited photo of “him and Nolan” with tickets to the Barbie movie.
His co-star Matt Damon shared a similar sentiment while speaking to Vanity Fair, as he said, “People are allowed to see two movies in a weekend. Oppenheimer is one of them!”
Then when the publication brought up that Damon has four daughters who might be more interested in bringing the famed Mattel doll to life, he replied, “I’ll have to ask them.” If so, they’ll see two movies that weekend!’
Pop culture moment: Fans eagerly await the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer, with plenty of memes celebrating and some even designing their own merchandise
Elsewhere, a movie superstar who doesn’t even star in the movie has also shown his love for summer blockbuster fights.
During the Australian premiere of Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise revealed his plans to see both films on their opening weekend.
Speak to The Sydney Morning Herald: “I want to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer. I see them on opening weekend. Friday I first see Oppenheimer and then Barbie on Saturday/
“I grew up watching movies on the big screen. That’s how I make them, and I love that experience. It’s compelling, and to have that as a community and industry is important. I still go to the movies.’
Both Oppenheimer and Barbie will be released in the US on July 21, and the world’s largest movie theater chain AMC Theaters has reported that more than 20,000 people have purchased tickets to see both films on the same day.