The premiere of the successful film "Barbie" in Japan faced additional setbacks, as an online petition gained momentum, urging Hollywood production companies to distance themselves from a popular marketing movement that highlighted the nuclear holocaust. The petition on Change.org gathered over 16,000 signatures within two days, demanding Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures, the studio behind the biographical film "Oppenheimer," to stop using the term "Barbenheimer," which contributed significantly to the film's success.
Initially, Warner Bros. benefited from fan-created memes that featured images of Australian actress Margot Robbie and Irish actor Cillian Murphy alongside visuals of nuclear explosions. However, this did not sit well with fans in Japan, which is about to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The hashtag (#NoBarbenheimer) spread online, being reposted over 100,000 times, prompting Warner Bros.’ Japanese branch to issue a rare public criticism of its parent company and subsequently apologize a week later.
As of now, there has been no announcement regarding the release date of "Oppenheimer" in Japan, which chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb. The film has faced criticism for largely ignoring the devastation caused by this weapon in Japan at the end of World War II, which destroyed two major cities and resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people.
