Reviews of Barbie vs Oppenheimer: Frontrunner Emerges in Battle for Box Office Supremacy

Mattel has drawn criticism for “stealth marketing” to children after a new program distributed free Barbie dolls to schools, a move that health experts say reinforces harmful gender stereotypes.

The toymaker launched the “Barbie School of Friendship” scheme this year, in which free Barbie dolls were given to around 150,000 pupils in 700 schools across the UK to teach social skills.

However, in an investigative article published in the British medical journal on July 20, many experts questioned the program’s potential negative effects on gender stereotypes, as well as companies freely marketing their products to schools.

In a new interview for the Harper’s Bazaar United Kingdom summer issue, Barbie Star America Ferrera, 39, has spoken of Barbie’s progressive but “inelegant” history since its inception in 1959.

Ferrera said growing up she was “never a Barbie girl,” but there were “revolutionary” moments in Barbie history when Mattel made subversive statements about femininity.

Ferrera pointed out that there was no kitchen in the first Barbie Dreamhouse, which freed the doll from the expectations of domestic life.

“In the days leading up to the release of the Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, the film came under various attacks from right-wing figures, whose problem with the film lies in what they say is a ‘woke’ and ‘feminist’ agenda,” writes Nylah Burton for The Independent.

“No one should like the Barbie movie, and I’m sure a clever critique of the movie’s message and quality will emerge. However, to attack it for not addressing “any notion of family faith” is not only ridiculous but wrong.

For obvious reasons, some fans wonder if Oppenheimer will be theatrically released in Japan.

The Independent understands that release plans for the film have yet to be finalized in all markets. Japan also tends to post later than other markets with Barbie come out on August 11 there.

Barbie would be on track to earn over $150 million in its opening weekend. If he pulls off this feat, Gerwig will break the record for the biggest national opening for a female director in Hollywood history.

“It’s a real problem when you’re working on stage with Cillian,” Damon said. “Sometimes you find yourself swimming in his eyes.”

Blunt compared Murphy’s eyes to Billie Eilish’s 2016 hit “Ocean Eyes.” “We hum it all day,” she said.

But take it from the fans who seem to have made the mistake of watching Oppenheimer Before Barbie. The first is heavy, and while some have argued that’s exactly why you’d want to end on the happy Barbie- as a palette cleanser – “I can’t imagine wanting to do anything after Oppenheimer,” one viewer tweeted.

“Oppenheimer completely devastated me emotionally, then I watched the movie on a toy,” they added.

Barbie earned $22.3m (£17.3m) in the US from 3,900 cinemas while Universal says Oppenheimer raised $10.5m (£8.2m); however, it premiered in fewer theaters than Barbie (3,150).