The first Barbie doll from 1959 on display at the interactive exhibition “Barbie World” on June 28, 2023, at Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, California.
Robyn Beck | afp | beautiful pictures
A weapons engineer turned doll maker is an unexpected connection to “Barbenheimer”, the duo affectionately dubbed from Warner Bros.′ “Barbie” and Universal “Oppenheimer.”
The unlikely summer hit titles opened Friday after weeks of passionately talking about the differences between the two films — the strange and rosy world of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the extraordinary story of the American physicist who brought the world into the atomic age.
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And yet, Barbie dolls come from weapons.
Before designing the most famous doll in the world, Jack Ryan worked for the aerospace giant Raytheon and helped create the weapons that form the backbone of America’s missile defense system.
Ryan, a Yale University graduate engineer, helped create the Sparrow and Hawk missiles, which laid the foundation for the Patriot missile system, one of the most advanced air defense weapons in the US arsenal.
After his arms business, Ryan went to Mattelwhere he became the toy manufacturer’s vice president of research and design.
On July 24, 1959, Ryan filed a US patent detailing his concept of what would later become the most recognizable toy doll in the world. Ryan was granted a patent for “build dolls” in November 1961. He is also credited with creating toys such as Chatty Cathy and the Hot Wheels collection.
The first Barbie patent ever produced from the Sid and Alicia Belzberg collection.
James Leynse | Corbis History | beautiful pictures
before him died in 1991 At the age of 65, Ryan has accumulated more than 1,000 patents for his designs.
Meanwhile, cinemas are showing strong ticket sales for “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” and have added more screenings to meet growing demand.
“Barbie” grossed $22.3 million at the domestic box office from Thursday night previews, en route to at least $140 million for the entire weekend. Oppenheimer made $10.5 million on Thursday, predicting $60 million for the weekend.
Furthermore, the two movies together are capable of generating more than 200 million dollars over the next few days and is expected to result in the highest weekend of the year so far at the box office, with some analysts suggesting this weekend could hit $300 million with additional sales from “Mission Impossible,” “Sound of Freedom,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
