Barbie LIVE: Fans in pink fever mode as Oppenheimer goes head-to-head with Margot Robbie blockbuster

 Here, follow MailOnline’s liveblog for all the updates on Barbie vs Oppenheimer. 

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Rob Brydon has revealed that Margot Robbie‘s love for Gavin and Stacey may have helped him score a part in the Barbie movie.

The actor, 58, played the lovable Uncle Bryn in the BBC series – which it turns out leading actress Margot, 33, is a huge fan of. 

Her love for the character is the reason Rob thinks he was cast as a small cameo part in the highly-anticipated film which hits UK cinemas on July 21. 

Margot Robbie sold Barbie as a billion-dollar movie. 

Christopher Nolan said it was ‘bittersweet’ to see Oppenheimer cast members walk out at the film’s London premiere last week amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

‘It was a bittersweet moment,’ the Oscar-nominated filmmaker, 52, said while appearing on the Today show Tuesday to promote the motion picture, which arrives in theaters Friday.

Nolan appeared on the show five days after actors including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Florence Pugh departed at the July 13 screening of the summer blockbuster.

The Oppenheimer director said he was satisfied that the cast was able to support the film, then stand in solidarity with their fellow performers amid a contentious time in the industry.

The reviews are in, and critics have been blown away by Christopher Nolan’s newest film, Oppenheimer, branding it a ‘masterpiece’.

Greta Gerwig thinks it is a ‘minor miracle’ that she was able to make Barbie. 

Odeon said both Barbie and Oppenheimer, which have stars including Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, are its biggest films of the year so far for advance sales.

Suzie Welch, Odeon’s interim managing director of UK and Ireland, said: ‘We have been amazed by the response from guests in the run-up to this Friday, as excitement for the summer 2023 slate, led by Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible 7, continues to build, showcasing what the big-screen experience is all about.

‘As we prepare for the biggest weekend of the year, whether you are dressed in roller blades and head-to-toe pink, preparing for a three-hour epic, or combining the two, we know that our guests are going to be both blown away and dazzled by the experience at Odeon.’

This follows Tom Cruise leading the third biggest weekend so far this year for Odeon, with Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One.

Odeon expects this weekend will be the biggest for the chain since superhero film Avengers: Endgame, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth, in 2019.

Odeon has said one million customers are expected at its cinemas in the week following the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Both films will be released on Friday, which has given rise to cinemagoers purchasing back-to-back tickets for what has been dubbed, Barbenheimer.

Odeon said thousands will see director Greta Gerwig’s comedy about the famous doll Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller on physicist J Robert Oppenheimer and his role in developing the first atomic bomb on the same day.

The film chain reports that more than 200,000 advance tickets were purchased and more than 10,000 guests are expected to see both films in opening weekend.

They’re the two highly-anticipated blockbusters hitting screens today – but other than their shared release date, The Barbie Movie and Oppenheimer are worlds apart.

Starring Margot Robbie, 33, and Ryan Gosling, 42, Barbie follows the beloved children’s doll as she leaves Barbieland for the real world in a journey of self-discovery.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – Cillian Murphy, 47 – tells the story of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the ‘father of the atomic bomb’.

As a result of their wildly different plots, fans have been divided online over which film to see first.

Here’s some other unlikely movies that were released on the same day…

Margot Robbie really is living in a Barbie world during the film’s global press tour.

The Australian actress, 33, who is playing the famous doll, is wearing outfits inspired by or exact replicas of ensembles worn by her character.

From a monochrome dress similar to the swimsuit worn by the first-ever Barbie to the doll’s 1985 Day to Night looks, Margot has been putting her best Barbiecore fashion foot forward.

Here, FEMAIL reveals Margot’s Barbie-inspired fashion moments while promoting  the anticipated film, which was directed by Greta Gerwig and also features Ryan Gosling as Ken.

Barbie star America Ferrera has discusses female solidarity and her part in the Me Too movement in a new interview. 

The actress opened up about the trauma she experienced after she went public with her sexual assault story in 2017. 

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, America discussed how her efforts to be part of a movement of female solidarity ended in a ‘super traumatic’ reaction from those close to her. 

The actress, who stars in the new Barbie film alongside co-stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, joined the Me Too movement back in 2017 when she recounted the harrowing tale of being molested when she was nine years old.

Holly Willoughby celebrated Barbie’s blockbuster release with a throwback snap of herself dressed as the iconic plastic plaything. 

The This Morning host, 42, looked sensational in the pink cowgirl ensemble which she wore to pal Keith Lemon’s 50th birthday bash in April.

Donning a plunging pink denim jumpsuit which she teamed with white cowboy hat and red neck scarf.  

Gemma Collins celebrated Barbie day in style as she shared a slew of snaps from a special screening of the much anticipated Mattel movie which was released on Friday.

The former TOWIE star, 42, looked nothing short of sensational in the figure-hugging pink jumpsuit as she gushed about the ’empowering’ film.

She posed with huge props at the London Picture House event before taking her seat and enjoying the movie.

The film’s stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling sat down with presenter Mark Heyes on Lorraine as he chatted to the pair about the project on Friday morning.  

The iconic Barbie outfits are all anyone is talking about and the Australian actress confessed that her plan to fine people for not wearing pink failed because ‘everyone just wanted an excuse’ to dress in the colour.

Insisting that any money acquired went to charity Margot confessed ‘honestly I didn’t collect that much money as because everyone wanted to wear pink.’ 

A fashionista himself, Mark commented that the Chanel outfits in the movie were ‘exceptional’ with even Ken donning the designer. 

Amongst the first through the doors to see Robbie and Gosling’s film were Charlie Wootton, 24, Jordan Mander, 28, Rob Corbishley, 24, who donned pink skirts, pink cowboy hats and even pink socks. 

The trio who had travelled down from Kettering in Northampton this morning, enjoyed a few beers on their train down, decided to start with off with Barbie ‘for starter’ followed by Oppenheimer ‘for main’ and beers ‘for dessert’. 

Londoner Karol Olszewski, 23, dressed up in pink trousers and a pink and white Mean Girls top as he went to the first showing.

He told MailOnline: said: ‘I’m very excited, the Barbie film has been my whole personality for the past few months. It’s a cultural experience, the theatres are filled out. I think Barbie is playing up to the narrative of the male gaze so I wanted to wear a lot of pink.’

Barbie fanatic Emily, 18, added: ‘I really like the Barbieheimer hype. Rather than pitting the two against eachother, they are all coming together and embracing it – both casts as well. Hopefully I’ll catch Oppenheimer on Sunday.’ 

Many memes saw fans joke about how they were going to watch both the films in one day – with different ensembles or appearances for the crossover.  

The term Barbenheimer has blown up so much on social media that the phrase now has its own Wikipedia page.

Millions of pounds have been spent on marketing Greta Gerwig’s pink fever-dream, which saw splashy film posters, new Barbie dolls and even a hot-pink Malibu Dreamhouse, which cropped up in California. 

The iconic doll has been given a whole new lease of life, but before her 2023 revamp, Barbie has endured a long history. 

Here is the fascinating true story behind Barbara Millicent Roberts, and how she has remained relevant for decades. 

In cinemas now, Oppenheimer takes audiences on a pulse-pounding journey tracking the inconceivable pressure on one man’s shoulders as he risks destroying the world in order to save it.

Boasting a star-studded cast and a director whose catalogue of critically-acclaimed films such as Dunkirk and Interstellar have earned more than £4 billion  at the box office, it’s no wonder Oppenheimer has been one of the most talked about films of the year. 

Here’s 10 reasons why we are obsessed with Oppenheimer and why you’ll be rushing to book your ticket.

Christopher Nolan said Oppenheimer says he was ‘appropriately nervous and appropriately careful’ in his first time filming sex scenes, for his new movie Oppenheimer.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker, 52, spoke with Insider Wednesday about making the motion picture, which arrives in theaters Friday.

‘Any time you’re challenging yourself to work in areas you haven’t worked in before, you should be appropriately nervous and appropriately careful and planned and prepared,’ the London native said of the love scenes.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated Barbie movie release, Greta Gerwig has explained how she hopes the film challenges existing stereotypes.

The actor-writer-director, 39, spoke about her new film while posing for the front cover of ELLE UK magazine.

Speaking on how she hopes that Barbie subverts sexist stereotypes, Greta said: ‘[Barbie is] literally plastic. She’s unchanging. If you threw [her] out, she just wouldn’t disintegrate. If I could give that persona some humanity, some falling-apart-ness, that – in and of itself – would be meaningful.’

After winning huge praise in the US, Oppenheimer has now scored epic reviews among UK publications with a slew of four and five star ratings.

Christopher Nolan’s latest epic tells the story of the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, also known as ‘father of the atomic bomb’, with Cillian Murphy nabbing the titular role, in which he delivers a chilling performance. 

With the movie set to go head to head against Greta Gerwig’s Barbie on Friday, things were looking up for Nolan as Oppenheimer currently boasts 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while Barbie has a still-impressive 89% fresh rating.

Gemma Collins was all dolled up a special screening of the new Barbie movie at the Picturehouse cinema London on Thursday.

The former TOWIE star, 42, slipped into a pink jumpsuit for the occasion as she hit the red carpet alongside new mum Jessie J, 35.

t’s by no means the first time that two huge movies have been released on the same day. Indeed, some other head-to-heads have been as culturally intriguing as this one. In November 1995, for example, Martin Scorsese’s epic crime movie Casino opened against the inaugural Pixar animation Toy Story.

But nobody tried to fuse those two titles, and besides, their contrasts weren’t as irresistible as those between Barbie and Oppenheimer: a pair of single-word names, one synonymous with little girls playing innocently with their dolls, the other with an existential threat to humankind.

Daily Mail’s Brian Viner reviewed Barbie (12A, ****) in Wednesday’s paper and Oppenheimer (15, *****) yesterday. Here’s what he thinks…

Hundreds of fans clad in pink tutus and Oppenheimer fedora hats swarmed to cinemas this morning for 8am to get the first glimpse of summer’s two biggest blockbusters – with some hitting the beers early in prep for the all-day movie marathon. 

Giddy fans dressed up with pink feather boas, pink sunglasses and pink cowboy boots were out in force as they lined up outside cinemas up and down the country.

At Leicester Square this morning a pink army of excited fans queued to enter the Vue Cinema where the two hotly-anticipated films were on show,  while some who got up at the crack of dawn to watch Oppenheimer at 4.10am rolled out of the threatre dressed in pyjamas.

The nostalgic film has certainly not failed to disappoint as it is jam-packed with references to the original Mattel dolls, from the very first Barbie in 1959.

The film sees the star-studded cast, including Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Nicola Coughlan – pay tribute to various versions of the Barbie and Ken dolls.

But there are also hidden Easter eggs hinting at other huge moments in popular culture, including surprising cameos and references to huge blockbusters.

From references to A Space Odyssey and The Matrix to a cameo by the real-life daughter of Barbie’s inventor, MailOnline takes a look at all the film’s Easter Eggs.

Hundreds of screenings for the two biggest blockbusters of the summer have sold out across Britain – in a welcome boost to an industry left decimated by Covid. 

Barbie and Oppenheimer are battling it out at the Box Office – and look set to rake it in after spending more than $100m each on production costs. 

But with movie fans divided over which film to see first, thousands have decided to buy tickets for both on the same day, spawning the phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. 

Odeon has reported that more than 300 screenings have sold out for both films, and predicts it will sell a million tickets over the next week alone. 

And some 10,000 of its moviegoers have committed to a five-hour movie marathon by seeing both Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, along with 22 per cent of Vue customers. 

As Barbie fever sweeps across the nation ahead of the film’s release on Friday, an array of celebrities made sure to mark the occasion. 

Jessica Alves, Demi Jones and Charlotte Dawson lead the stars wearing pink in honour of the hotly-anticipated Greta Gerwig production. 

Barbie fever hit the UK today with hundreds of super fans waking up at the crack of dawn to race across the country to catch a glimpse of the first viewings of the much-anticipated films in the capital. 

Greta Gerwig’s satire will go head-to-head in the global box office against Christopher Nolan’s intense drama Oppenheimer, which is about the scientist who first created the atomic bomb. 

The two major titles were released simultaneously today with thousands of fans deciding to buy tickets for both shows leading to a spawning phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. 

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