'Barbie' movie opens in Japan after atomic bomb controversy

Aug 11, 2023 | News On Japan

Aug 11, 2023 (Reuters) - Hollywood blockbuster "Barbie" hit theatres in Japan on Friday, where "Barbenheimer" memes linking the doll-themed film with the atomic bomb caused a stir and made distributor Warner Bros (WBD.O) apologise ahead of the release.

Tickets for "Barbie", starring Margot Robbie in the title role, nevertheless sold fast in Japan as fans flocked to the theatrical release, timed to coincide with a national holiday marking the first day of Japan's extended summer holiday week.

"The pink world of Barbie was absolutely beautiful," said Misaki Suzuki, 29-year-old nail salon worker, after watching the film at a Tokyo cinema.

"Barbie" has topped $1 billion in global box office since its July 21 debut, making writer and director Greta Gerwig the first female filmmaker to surpass that benchmark as a solo director. The success of the fantasy-comedy was further boosted by the coupling with "Oppenheimer", the biopic chronicling the creation of the atomic bomb during World War Two that opened on the same weekend.

But the "Barbenheimer" combo sparked a backlash in Japan, as the nation earlier this month marked the memorials of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 78 years ago. ...continue reading

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