Look Out! Online Scammers Are Taking Advantage Of The Barbie Movie Mania

Hollywood is on fire. In both a good way and a bad way. The good: You've got 3 movies, Barbie, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Oppenheimer currently crushing it at the box office. The bad: SAG actors are currently on the picket line striking. Oppenheimer made $82 million on opening weekend while the Barbie movie demolished everyone by bringing in $162 million during its opening weekend. The success of the Barbie movie has given the iconic toy a new life. That new life has also opened the door for online scammers to take advantage of the Barbie mania.

There have been a host of scams popping up trying to trick customers. Software security firm McAfee says, “Cyber criminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to make phishing and other scams more attractive and believable. They often leverage popular and well-publicized events such as movie premieres, concerts, or sporting events to trick users into clicking on malicious links.” In just the last 3 weeks there have been 37 different malware incidents with names related to the Barbie film. They seem to be fake Barbie websites offering ticket sales and merchandise, but the links are loaded with malware.

You may be thinking, who would actually trust these random links and click on them? Enough people out there click them that there is news of online scammers taking advantage of the Barbie movie mania. According to McAfee to avoid scams and keep your personal information, banking info, and password safe you should go with known movie sites, retailers, and streamers and only buy tickets from reputable movie theater chains and apps. Otherwise, you could be downloading a file that has a Trojan Horse on it designed to siphon your personal info, passwords, etc. For a detailed dive into the scams and how to avoid them check out the McAfee Security Blog, they have screenshots and explanations of some of the scams out there.

What the heck is "Barbenheimer?" Why is everyone talking about it? Don't worry. We have answers.

First and foremost, let's break down the word itself. Barb-enheimer. "Barb," representing Barbie, "-enheimer," representing Oppenheimer. Does it make a bit more sense now? Barbie plus Oppenheimer. Like "Brangelina."

Alright, now that's out of the way, why have we mashed these two words up? Well, on Friday, July 21, 2023, lightning struck, and two aesthetically opposite films were released. The highly anticipated Barbie movie from Greta Gerwig, and Christopher Nolan's war drama, Oppenheimer. One represents all things girly and pink, the other tackling the story of the design of the atomic bomb.

Two diametrically opposed films. One day. This is: Barbenheimer.

Irony aside, it's really fun that these two movies received essentially equal hype due to their simultaneous release. They will both almost definitely see a huge opening weekend. Honestly, why just pick one? See both! On the same day! But there is a huge choice to make. Which one should you see first? Well, that all depends upon personal preference.

Don't miss out on seeing these two soon-to-be box office smash hits. Consider participating in this Barbenheimer hype. You know you want to.

People are debating what order you should see the movies in. If you're going to see them in the same day, which one should be seen first? Also, when, and what, should you eat? You may do this if one person in the relationship wants to see Barbie, and to get the other person to go they offer to see Oppenheimer on the same day. My suggestion: Oppenheimer in the morning, contemplate your existence while eating lunch, take a nap, Barbie at 7 pm, go out to the clubs/bars.

Even the stars of the films themselves. The whole pink and bright versus black and serious aesthetic thing is really funny. Everyone has days when they're Barbie, and other days when they're Oppenheimer. It's funny because we can all relate.  Some people are speculating which film each character from their favorite show will see. For example, Ted Lasso would for sure be seeing Barbie, and Roy Kent would likely be seeing Oppenheimer.

In Oppenheimer, you've got Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., and Matt Damon, among others. Barbie has Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Dua Lipa, JOHN CENA, again, among others. It's like, the Infinity War of movies. Everyone showed up and showed out.

15 years ago, we had what people are saying was the "original" Barbenheimer. Mamma Mia! and The Dark Knight were released on the same day. Again, two very aesthetically different films. And Christopher Nolan was at the scene of both crimes...

Um, I want to say no. However, it somewhat does? It says something about your taste in films, at least. But I don't think anyone is judging you for which one you choose to see first (or like better). Sometimes it's just up to which one you could score tickets for first. Enjoy both and make your memes about the whole thing. It's harmless fun!