The so-called Barbenheimer phenomenon has seen a huge spike in cinema ticket sales.
Film fans have been watching Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as a double bill.
Cinema chain Vue said a fifth of its ticket sales this week were people wanting to follow the latest social media trend of watching both flicks. It meant the chain saw the highest number of sales since 2019.
The two films, released on Friday, have contrasting storylines, with Gerwig’s comedy about the famous doll Barbie, and Nolan’s biographical thriller chronicling physicist J Robert Oppenheimer’s role in developing the first atomic bomb.
More than 2,000 of Vue’s screenings for Barbie were sold out, according to the company. The cinema chain’s biggest sites for Barbie include Cambridge, Glasgow St Enoch, Leeds Kirkstall, Cwmbran, Islington, Bolton and Portsmouth.
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The company said the film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, will exceed ticket sales for Super Mario Bros and Oppenheimer to become the biggest film of the year.
Tim Richards, chief executive and founder of Vue International, said: “Vue saw its highest weekend admissions since Avengers: Endgame in 2019 with the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer, proving that when the movies are there, our customers will come to watch them on the big screen.
“Barbie is tracking to become the biggest film of 2023 and has a good chance of getting into the Top 10 highest grossing films of all time.
“It is an incredibly exciting moment for the industry, and we expect this trend to continue for the coming weeks.”
In total, the cinema chain had more than 4,000 sell-out sessions across the country during the weekend.
Odeon reported on Thursday that more than 200,000 advance tickets had been bought and over 10,000 guests were expected to see both films during the opening weekend.
Universal Pictures said Oppenheimer, which stars Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh, had made £8.05 million in the UK and Ireland since Friday.
The film production and distribution company said the biopic is on track to have a better opening three days than Nolan’s other blockbusters Dunkirk, Interstellar and Inception.
Farhan Mehmood, who watched Barbie at 2.30pm, followed by the darker Oppenheimer at 5.15pm with a friend, told the PA news agency the films can “save cinema”.
The 21-year-old from Scunthorpe, who volunteers in digital marketing, said: “Barbie had a deep message, it paid off (with what) it said in the trailer with the tagline, ‘If you grew up with Barbie, this film is for you. If you didn’t, then it’s also for you.
“Oppenheimer, on the other hand, leaves you with a big shock, it’s… somewhat depressing and I absolutely think it can save cinema.”
He added that viewing both films was “interesting”.
“I personally think it’s made history for cinema, it’s made a lot of buzz and conversations around it,” Mr Mehmood said.