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The same-day release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has sparked a frenzy on social media in recent weeks. But as cotton candy plastic pop meets death, destroyer of worlds on Friday 21 July, it’s worth pointing out that, incredibly, this has happened before. Fifteen years ago on 18 July 2008, dark versus light had another box office showdown, when Nolan’s The Dark Knight was released on the same day as Abba-inspired musical sensation Mamma Mia! Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Of course, social media was a very different beast back then. We can only dream of what the meme machine would have churned out with Christian Bale’s foreboding Batman and Amanda Seyfreid’s bride-to-be Sophie. Or what about Heath Ledger’s terrifying Joker and Pierce Brosnan’s smooth-as-you-like Sam Carmichael? The Dark Knight won the opening weekend by some distance, bringing in $158.4m in ticket sales compared to $27.7m for Mamma Mia! However, the Abba extravaganza clawed back some ground in the end, earning $611m in total, though still far less than The Dark Knight’s $1bn. Of course, theatre fans will point to the resounding success of Mamma Mia! the musical, which is the second-most successful production of all time with $4bn in total revenue, only lagging behind The Phantom Of The Opera. And beyond the numbers, news outlet Vulture even positioned the event as a good versus evil, light versus dark battle “for the soul of America” ahead of opening weekend. Sounds familiar, right? “It’s tempting to look at this weekend, in fact, as a mandate on how Americans feel about the state and future of our great nation,” the publication wrote at the time. “Is America optimistic? Do we essentially view ourselves as attractive, tan actresses frolicking on the beach to ABBA songs? Or is the soul of America chaotic and violent, like the deranged anti-hero whose electrifying presence animates The Dark Knight?” Twitter users tried to give the 15-year-old film pairing the Barbenheimer treatment. One person wrote: “Just realised the dark knight/mamma mia release day could have been called “Abbatman”. Why wasn’t I on Twitter in 2008?” It’s too early to say which of Barbie or Oppenheimer will come out on top on their opening weekend – though analysts have predicted a win for the former. But with the films hitting cinemas on 21 July, we don’t have long until we find out. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Barbie is everywhere. From Barbiecore becoming fashion's latest buzzword to billboards, to food and drink to merch collaborations – and still, the people demand more. Well now, Greta Gerwig's hotly anticipated film has secured a strong Rotten Tomatoes rating, proving it has style and substance. Barbie, set to hit cinemas on 21 July, has received an impressive 89 per cent score on the popular American film and TV review website, with film critics pleasantly surprised by the Warner Bros' production. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "Life in plastic is fantastic indeed: Barbie is a sharp, hilarious and joy-contagious satire of gender roles," Mireia Mullor from Digital Spy wrote, while Andrew Gaudion from THN described the film as "a feminist fairy tale with lots on its mind about the modern world and the gender roles within. That, and it’s also exceptionally silly and funny." Barbie | Main Trailer www.youtube.com Alice Saville from Time Out added: "This is a wonderfully fun watch that somehow manages to simultaneously celebrate and satirise the Barbie brand, its feminism and girliness pairing like gorpcore sandals with a floaty pink skirt." One glowing review from Brian Truitt at USA Today read: "Barbie is really an insightful exploration of humanity, the meaning of life and the cognitive dissonance of a woman living in the patriarchy, all with a really big heart and style to spare." Meanwhile, New York Post critic Johnny Oleksinkski didn't hold back when offering his take, calling the film "exhausting, spastic, self-absorbed and overwrought disappointment." Greta Gerwig's Barbie, featuring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, Micheal Cera and Issa Rae, is set to hit cinemas on 21 July. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Kepa Arrizabalaga becomes Chelsea's longest-serving senior player after Ethan Ampadu's sale to Leeds.

Nigeria’s official currency exchange rate is once again widening a gap with the parallel-market rate, shrugging off a

The 2023 Women's World Cup finally gets underway on Thursday with the two host nations kicking off the tournament and the summer of footballing festivities.

The internet going crazy for two films about kids’ dolls and weapons of mass destruction couldn’t have been on many people’s bingo cards. But with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer set to come out on the same day, 21 July, you’d be challenged to name a more iconic duo. The hype around the movies could hardly have been more different. Barbie is, well, Barbie; it’s pink, pretty and plastic. Oppenheimer is the atom bomb: fire and brimstone, the destroyer of worlds. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Social media doesn’t see it that way, though. As cinemas gear up to show the movies back-to-back – and film-goers argue over which one to watch first – the meme factory has been working on overdrive. Here are some of the best Twitter has to offer: It recently emerged that the Barbie dream house had mysteriously appeared in Malibu. It comes complete with a pool, huge balconies and that signature pink finish. Oh, and you can stay there on Airbnb soon. Unfortunately, Oppenheimer fans had an idea for how they could counter the excellent work done by Barbie’s marketing team with a slightly more destructive piece of marketing of their own. They wouldn’t... Would they? People are already planning their entire days around the dual event. Are you Oppenheimer first, then Barbie? (Otherwise known as Oppenbarbie.) Or are you doing it the other, incorrect way? Because if you’re seeing Barbie in the morning followed by a chaser of atomic doom in the evening (Barbenheimer, apparently), you’re doing it all wrong, apparently. Which camp (or state) do you fall into? These two iconic houses in Santa Monica almost nail the difference in tone between the two films without even knowing it: Yes, of course, there is merch. And even the stars of the films themselves have joined in the fun: Instagram has even made a trailer. The good news is, whichever you go for – Barbenheimer or Oppenbarbie – there's one thing everyone can agree on... Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

For the first time in decades a US soldier is believed to be in North Korean custody. That is a scenario that could cause a diplomatic headache for the United States while it, alongside ally South Korea, tries to keep pressure on Pyongyang as the isolated nation ramps up its ballistic missile tests and bellicose rhetoric.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the energy giant seeking to expand its chemical operations through a series of

South Korea’s LG Group introduced an upgraded version of its artificial intelligence software, and demonstrated how it can

Yakub Zakriev is a deputy prime minister and the agriculture minister of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

The future looks bright in Cincinnati, as Reds rookie Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a clutch, pinch-hit, go-ahead bomb for his first career home run on Tuesday night.The Cincinnati Reds have a very bright future ahead of them, considering the prospects they have called up have made immediate ...

CCTV will use algorithms to detect fights and abandoned bags - but not everyone is happy about it.