Downtown Los Angeles was full of Ken-ergy for the premiere of Barbie, where the first public screening showed off the new Margot Robbie film.
First reactions are now coming out on social media for the feature from filmmaker Greta Gerwig and based on the Mattel doll. Formal reviews from critics will come at a later date closer to its July 21 release.
The film, thanks to its its meme-able moments and sharp marketing campaign, has become one of the most talked about of the summer ahead of its domestic debut, when it will open against Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. The box office showdown, dubbed Barbenheimer, has sparked numerous jokes about the very different tones and ambitions of both films. (One, a take on a classic doll; the other, about the father of the atomic bomb.)
For what it’s worth, Barbie star Robbie and director Gerwig posed for photos with themselves in front of several summer movie posters holding tickets for each, including for Oppenheimer. And Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has stated his support for Barbie, telling the Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia, “I can’t wait to see Barbie. I love Margot Robbie, I love Ryan Gosling…. My advice would be for people to go see both [Barbie and Oppenheimer], on the same day.”
Robbie plays a version of Barbie (there are multiple in the films), while Gosling stars as one of many Kens. When Robbie’s Barbie starts to sense there is something off with her world, she travels to our world in search of an answer.
Read on for the first reactions to Barbie.
