Cineworld on Glasgow’s Renfrew Street might be the tallest cinema building in the world, with 10 floors hosting almost 20 screens, but on Friday evening it felt like only two were really necessary.
Dubbed “Barbenheimer”, the simultaneous opening of the blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer has generated unexpected excitement, thanks in large part to their comedically juxtaposed subject matter and tone: Greta Gerwig’s bubblegum-pink, plastic-fantastic satire in one corner and Christopher Nolan’s brooding exploration of the invention of the atomic bomb in the other.
In Glasgow, Oppenheimer fans kept a lower profile while the crowds at ticket desks and pick’n’mix counters skewed largely young and female, with plenty of pink polyester and bottle-blond hair on display.
Noellia, from Monterrey, Mexico, was holidaying solo in Scotland and couldn’t wait until her return home to see Barbie. “I had to see Barbie in the UK,” she said as she queued for a photo in a giant pink Barbie box temporarily installed in the cinema’s lobby.
“I heard great things about this cinema so I’m so excited to see it here.” Does she have any interest in Nolan’s Oppenheimer? “No, no,” she shakes her head. “Only Barbie!”
Also there for Barbie were Jules, 17, Devon and Eres, both 19, and Adrian, 20 – friends from Glasgow and Edinburgh who originally met at Comic Con. Some had dressed more for the occasion than others – “I wanted to see Barbie but not look like I was seeing Barbie,” said Eres of their death-metal-inspired makeup look – but all agreed that watching Gerwig’s offering first was an easy decision, even if Oppenheimer seemed worth a look.
“Oppenheimer is just for fun but Barbie is for education,” deadpanned Devon – although, some of the group had to admit, they only recently realised the former is not a fictional character.
Some, such as friends Millie, Ellie, Eiligh, Mary and Lauren, all in their 20s, were attracted to Barbie because of their childhood affection for the 90s dolls, some of which they had dusted down and brought along for the occasion.
“All of us have grown up playing with Barbies; everyone had a Barbie doll when they were a little kid,” said Millie, 20. “So it’s that kind of childhood excitement again.”
And as well as nostalgia, Barbie has attracted a new army of fans thanks to the involvement of Gerwig and other big Hollywood names.
“I’m not really into Barbie but I’m into Margot Robbie,” said Nix, 28, attending with friends Simone and Craig. “When Margot’s on board with something, you know it’s going to be good from a feminist perspective, so that’s why I’m here.”
Simone, 27, was similarly excited by Ryan Gosling’s involvement, she said. As for Craig, 28, “I’m excited to see Ryan and his ‘Ken-ergy’ … but really I feel like I’m their roadie,” he nodded towards his companions’ coordinated outfits, complete with branded kneepads and elbow guards.
Among those at Cineworld on Friday were a hardcore few who had opted to see both films back-to-back. At a busy evening showing of Oppenheimer, several pink T-shirts could be seen peeking out from under jumpers.
One such group were Strathclyde University students Elise, Duncan and MJ, who opted to start their double bill with Barbie: “You can’t be depressed and go into happy, you have to be happy and go into depressed,” Elise, 18, reasoned.
It seemed like a good decision: “[Barbie] was kind of insanely good,” said MJ, 19. “Better than I think any of us expected it to be.”
Also in line for Oppenheimer was Richard Leiper, marking his 40th birthday that day with a cinema trip accompanied by his girlfriend.
“All of Christopher Nolan’s previous movies have been 10 out of 10s, so it’s a known quantity; you know it’s going to be top quality,” he said. His partner might have preferred Barbie, he admitted, but was trumped by his birthday celebrations – though the pair were planning another cinema trip over the weekend.
And as Barbenheimer hype reached fever pitch in Glasgow and beyond on release night, it was easy to forget there was a world out there beyond plastic and plutonium.
In a popcorn queue surrounded by pink feather boas and high scrunchied ponytails, one man could be heard saying, with an air of bemusement: “I just came here for Mission: Impossible.”
