It’s hard to top the juxtapositional irony of “芭比娃娃” and “Oppenheimer.” One is pink and pastel, the other is dark and gloomy. One is about a modern fictional dream world, the other is set during World War II and the sobering development of the atomic bomb.

Yet, somehow the contrast of the two films have spawned “Barbenheimer'' fans, with internet discourse abuzz withsocial media memes and jokes他们同时公映的日期riday, July 21, inched closer.

If The Chronicle’s recentTwitter pollis a barometer for Bay Area sentiment, 45.8% planned on only seeing “Oppenheimer” over the 21.5% who said they’d watch “Barbie.” But given the local ties of the films — “Barbie” directorGreta Gerwigwas born and raised in Sacramento; J. Robert Oppenheimer lived in the East Bay during his time as a UC Berkeley professor, and his brother,Frank, founded theExploratorium, the San Francisco science and technology museum now located on the Embarcadero — both were bound for success here this weekend.

Crowds showed on opening night, filling the seats in auditoriums throughout the region, from San Francisco’s AMC Metreon 16 to Daly City’s Cinemark Century and beyond. The excitement generated from the double film release has already produced arecord-breaking box office event, helping to pull the industry out of a post-pandemic slump.

Michelle Nelson, sporting a bright pink dress at the Cinemark in Daly City for “Barbie” on Friday night, said her excitement for the live-action film, starringMargot Robbieas the titular doll, prompted her to make her first trip to the movies since COVID shutdowns in 2020.

“I just was really curious to see what it would be like in this day and age,” the San Bruno resident said. “I felt like in order for it to be successful, it had to represent sort of what we’re going through as a country, and so I was curious and hopeful that it would be that.”

Many fans sought to watch both films on the same day, a key aspect of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon. But the lengthy runtime of “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy as the “father of the atomic bomb,” proved to be a logistical issue for moviegoers planning double features. Those who were ambitious enough for the challenge saw “Oppenheimer” in the morning and took a break before returning for the nearly two-hour live-action “Barbie” in the evening.

“I knew that ‘Oppenheimer’ was going to be a three-hour, 12-course tasting menu, and I just wanted ‘Barbie’ to be the ice cream at the end of it,” said Michael Luther, who attended both films at Daly City’s Cinemark Century theater. “‘Barbie’ was a very good palate cleanser for the very dark and confusing themes from ‘Oppenheimer.’

“If I could boil it down, I’d say cigarette smoke was the flavor from ‘Oppenheimer,’” he added.

The dark-to-light sequence seemed to be the consensus among those who were watching both films.

Shaina Wan of San Francisco went to the Cinemark Century with a group of friends, each of whom was decked out in hues of pink with subtle nods to Barbie culture. One friend, Ashely Carlson, stepped up her outfit by combining themes from both films, opting for a dark two-piece suit with a pink blouse.

Luther also dressed up, but took a slightly different approach, attending “Oppenheimer” in a three-piece suit, then changing in his car into a tank top and floral beach shorts before heading back in to catch “Barbie.”

Across the bay, UC Berkeley students Ash Coolman, Joseph Moreno and Kiara Farney had their own double-feature outing at the AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville. While they were dressed in pastel pinks and purples, the group expressed their specific excitement for “Oppenheimer,” since their campus is featured in the film.

With the “Barbenheimer” fervor centered around the competition between both films, the scene Friday night leaned heavily toward “Barbie,” as the fantastical PG-13 film offers accessibility to a broader range of viewers compared to Chistopher Nolan’s historical R-rated drama.

Indeed, “Barbie” seemed to evoke a particular sense of childlike joy in moviegoers, with several dressing up like real-life Barbie dolls, complete with platinum blonde wigs. In the lobby of the Metreon, a group of 30-somethings decked out in glitter and bright pink made their way to their seats while teenagers outside the entrance gleefully sang Aqua’s 1990s hit, “Barbie Girl.”

Ericka Ames and her friends at the Metreon described “Barbie” as a cultural movement, each expressing their deep-rooted admiration for the popular doll and noting that “she’s everything. She’s a feminist icon, ahead of her time.”

Allisandra Zavala of Daly City shared that she felt the film helped deconstruct unrealistic beauty standards.

“It really made me feel comfortable about being me,” the 14-year-old said after emerging from the Cinemark auditorium.

But whether they were Team “Barbie” or Team “Oppenheimer,” reactions Friday night were positive. Zaynah Alam, who accompanied Luther for a day at the movies, particularly noted the films’ complementary themes.

“One was about the existentialism of the modern war and what it means to hold the power of human life in your hands, and the other one was about the existentialism of being a Barbie. Somehow, they paired really well together,” she observed.

Overall, ‘“Barbeneheimer” enchanted some fans with an old sense of movie magic. Francisco Cruz Mendoza of San Francisco is so devoted to the experience that he plans on watching “Barbie” two days in a row, followed by a screening of “Oppenheimer,” at the Metreon over the weekend.

“I haven’t felt like this since ‘Star Wars,’” he said. “It’s just so refreshing after COVID and coming out here and seeing this in person.”

Reach Zara Irshad:Zara.Irshad@sfchronicle.com