Ken Crucified and the Virgin Barbie in Argentina

Barbie Virgin and Ken Christ crucified provoke controversy in Argentina

The figures of these Mattel characters were first manipulated in 2014 by Argentinean artists Emiliano Pool Paolini and Marianela Perelli.

Since Friday morning, thousands of moviegoers crowded outside American cinemas and theatres to see Barbie and Oppenheimer. And in Argentina, the boom reissued the doll that in 2014 was exhibited as the Barbie Virgin of Luján and Ken Christ crucified. Since then they have generated controversy.

The figures of these characters from the Mattel company were manipulated in 2014 by the Argentinean artists Emiliano Pool Paolini and Marianela Perelli. And now they have appeared in a toy shop in Luján.

If there is a Barbie nanny, a tamer and even an astronaut, why can't there be a Barbie Virgin Mary, who is one of the strongest popular icons in the history of humanity," the plastic artist Marianela Perelli told the AFP agency in 2015.

The reappearance of the Barbie Virgin of Luján and Ken Christ crucified revived the controversy 

For believers, the Virgin of Luján is the Patron saint of Argentines and devotion is very high, so this could be taken as an offence," journalist Sergio Rubin told TN. "This is a manipulation of a sacred symbol for millions of Argentinians and so far the church of Lujan has not made any statement on the matter".

Meanwhile, in the United States... yesterday, Friday, "the cinema was packed at 10:30 this morning, it was a little crazy," said Eric Adams, a 27-year-old salesman from New York, who was preparing to see "Barbie" at the end of the night because he couldn't get tickets at more regular times. 

In Colorado, Emma McNealy, 35, says she would have preferred to watch Oppenheimer at home on streaming, but conversations about the Barbenheimer around her convinced her to go see it in a theater.

The feature film about the pink doll has already racked up more than $22 million in pre-release receipts, while the story about the first nuclear weapon has grossed $10.5 million, according to Boxoffice Pro. 

Barbie could end the weekend with $150 million, surpassing the haul of the second "Avatar" installment last December. 

Expectations are so high that what we're trying to determine is not whether it will be successful, but how big that success will be," Boxoffice Pro editorial director Daniel Loria told AFP. 

More than 200,000 moviegoers are even planning to see both films on the same day between Friday and Sunday, according to the US National Association of Cinema Owners.

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See also Barbie should be a Bishop

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