By YUSUKE KATO/ Staff Writer
August 1, 2023 at 18:48 JST
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie in a scene from “Barbie.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The Japanese distributor of the U.S. blockbuster movie “Barbie” issued an apology July 31 over promotional efforts that saw studio executives of Warner Bros. engage through social media with fan posts that many in Japan found deeply offensive.
The controversy stems from the simultaneous release July 21 in the United States of “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s biopic “Oppenheimer” about U.S. scientist Robert Oppenheimer, hailed as the “father of the atomic bomb.”
Fans in the United States and elsewhere posted social media collages intended to encourage others to see both movies.
One changed Barbie’s hairdo to resemble a mushroom cloud while another had Barbie smiling while the atomic blast is visible in the background.
Social media posts in Japan were quick to take offense. One person called the U.S. posts morbid.
The X account, formerly known as Twitter, of the “Barbie” movie included replies from studio executives suggesting this summer would be an unforgettable one for blockbusters.
In its statement of apology, Warner Bros. Japan LLC referred to uncomfortable feelings that may have been caused by the responses from the U.S. head office “that lacked consideration.”
The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will hold memorial services this month to mark the respective anniversaries of the atomic bombings in 1945 that killed tens of thousands of residents.
“Barbie” is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on Aug. 11.
Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” raked in huge earnings on their opening weekend in the United States.
The other big offering this season is Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible--Dead Reckoning Part 1,” which is already showing in Japan.
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