“Oppenheimer” Biopic Sparks Viral Memes, Box Office Success

The biopic “Oppenheimer” has become a box office success, grossing over $600 million globally since its release on July 21. The film’s popularity has been boosted by viral mashup memes on social media, particularly those combining images from “Oppenheimer” with the satirical comedy “Barbie.” These memes have garnered millions of interactions and have acted as advertisements for both films. However, the memes have faced criticism in Japan for linking the Barbie character to atomic bomb imagery. Despite this controversy, the films have attracted a significant number of viewers, with some individuals seeing both movies due to the viral memes. KYODO NEWS reported

In the weeks leading up to the 78th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, American audiences flocked to theaters to watch “Oppenheimer,” a newly released biographical film that explores the life of the influential figure responsible for the development of nuclear weapons. According to reports from U.S. media, the film has achieved remarkable success, grossing over $600 million worldwide since its premiere on July 21. This makes it one of the highest-grossing movies related to World War II in history.

The film’s popularity has been partly fueled by a viral trend on social media, where users have been creating imaginative mashups combining imagery from “Oppenheimer” with that of the satirical comedy film “Barbie,” which coincidentally also achieved great financial success, surpassing the $1 billion mark at the global box office. Many of these memes have been shared under the hashtag “Barbenheimer,” a clever combination of the two blockbuster films.

The trend reportedly began on January 1 of this year, with the first post under the hashtag going viral and receiving more than 210,000 views. As the release dates of both films approached, fans started creating their own “Barbenheimer” merchandise, further contributing to the buzz surrounding the movies.

The National Association of Theatre Owners, representing 35,000 screens in the United States, reported that more than 200,000 people purchased tickets to watch both “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” on the same day during the opening weekend. This phenomenon of fans seeing both films is quite unusual and exciting, according to Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore Inc., a company that tracks social media and box office trends.

The “Barbenheimer” memes gained significant traction on various social media platforms. Comscore data from April 1 to July 26 reveals that people in the United States interacted with these memes 44.1 million times on TikTok, 15.4 million times on Instagram, and 1.2 million times on Twitter (now called X).

Kelsi Parsons, a 27-year-old worker in human resources, expressed her excitement at the hype surrounding the films. She mentioned that although she may have watched both movies regardless, seeing them as memes added to the overall excitement.

However, the “Barbenheimer” memes have not been well-received in Japan. One meme featuring the Barbie character with her hair replaced by a mushroom cloud sparked controversy. The U.S. promoter of “Barbie” faced criticism for engaging positively with some of the Barbenheimer posts that associated the film’s main character with atomic bomb-related imagery. The Japanese distributor of the film expressed regret, and Warner Bros. later issued an apology for the controversy.

While “Barbie” was released in Japan on the last Friday, there is currently no information available regarding the release of “Oppenheimer” in the country.

Don Caldwell, the chief general manager at Know Your Meme, stated that those who participated in the Barbenheimer memes did not intend to make light of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He explained that they viewed the mushroom cloud as a symbol of the film rather than a symbol of the bombing.

In contrast to Japan, where anti-nuclear weapons sentiment is strong, the United States has a postwar history of producing various merchandise featuring mushroom clouds and atomic bomb imagery. James Stemm, a curator at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in New Mexico, pointed out that nuclear images appeared in advertising and other products in 1945, immediately after the development and use of atomic bombs. At that time, the word “atomic” on objects, including toys, symbolized something new and scientifically advanced.

According to Stemm, the U.S. government encouraged people to study nuclear science in the early 1950s, which led to the inclusion of atomic imagery on children’s toys. However, as the anti-nuclear movement gained momentum in the mid-1960s, nuclear imagery began to depict the consequences of nuclear weapons use.

An engineer in his 20s, who preferred to be identified as Owen, admitted earlier this month that he, like many other Oppenheimer fans, was unaware of the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, which fall on August 6 and 9. He expressed his intention to research the topic further.

In summary, “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” have become box office hits, with the former grossing over $600 million globally and the latter surpassing the $1 billion mark. The success of these films has been amplified by the viral “Barbenheimer” memes, which have generated significant buzz on social media platforms. While the memes have faced criticism in Japan, they have attracted millions of interactions in the United States. The controversy surrounding the use of atomic bomb imagery in the memes highlights the differing sentiments towards nuclear weapons in Japan and the U.S. Moreover, the historical context of nuclear imagery in the United States sheds light on the nation’s postwar fascination with atomic science..