What is Barbieheimer, the viral trend that is taking the internet by storm

Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' and Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' has led to a viral phenomenon on the internet, termed as 'Barbieheimer'

With Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, all set to release on July 21, the cinematic world just witnessed a new trend, Barbieheimer.

Though it is common for film studios to release films from different genres on the same weekend, the stark differences between a serious, intense film about the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and a lighthearted, candy-coloured world of a childhood doll quickly became an internet phenomenon.

Many members of the teams involved with Barbie and Oppenheimer have weighed in on the discourse about "Barbieheimer".

Nolan said he finds the obsession "terrific".

"Summer, in a healthy marketplace, is always crowded, and we've been doing this a long time. I think for those of us who care about movies, we've been really waiting to have a crowded marketplace again, and now it's here and that's terrific," Nolan told IGN, an American entertainment website.

"It's all love — double up, double up twice. I think you've got to see what the experience is, Barbie then Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer then Barbie. I think you've got to take all of the journeys," Barbie director Gerwig told The Hollywood Reporter, an American digital and print magazine.

In May, Matt Damon, who plays Leslie Groves in Oppenheimer, was one of the first film members to wade into the discourse.

After American magazine Vanity Fair introduced him to the phenomenon of "Barbieheimer", Damon said, "People are allowed to go see two movies in a weekend. Oppenheimer is one of them."

Cillian Murphy, who plays Julius Robert Oppenheimer, is in favour of the double-movie idea. "I can't wait to see Barbie. I love Margot Robbie, I love Ryan Gosling, I want to see them now. I don't know what the debate is about, although it's not that I have an overwhelming opinion about it either. My advice would be for people to go see both on the same day. If they are good films, that is what the cinema wins."

Even actors who are not in either movie are getting in on the viral trend. Tom Cruise and his Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie encouraged fans to go to cinemas this summer by posting photos of themselves with tickets for a "Barbieheimer double feature".

Cruise had tweeted in June: "I love a double feature, and it doesn't get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie."

Margot Robbie — Barbie herself — has started plotting the ideal "Barbenheimer" day. "It's a perfect double bill," said Robbie at her movie's London premiere. "I think actually start your day with 'Barbie,' then go straight into 'Oppenheimer' and then a 'Barbie' chaser."

Meanwhile, this summer will be stacked with films across a wide range of genres, from Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones to horror movies like The Meg 2 and Insidious.