The first Barbie doll, created in 1959, will be on display at the interactive exhibit “The World of Barbie” at Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, California on June 28, 2023.
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The weapons engineer-turned-puppet maker has an unlikely connection to the “Barbenheimer” duo affectionately referred to by Warner Bros.’s “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer.”
The unlikely back-to-back summer hot titles were unveiled Friday after weeks of bickering between two movies: the whimsical, rosy world of Barbie alongside Oppenheimer, the extraordinary story of the American physicist who ushered the world into the atomic age.
Nonetheless, Barbie doll comes from a weapons background.
Before designing the world’s most famous doll, Jack Ryan worked for an aerospace giant Raytheon He contributed to the development of the weapons that formed the basis of America’s missile defense.
A Yale-educated engineer, Ryan helped develop the Sparrow and Hawk missiles that laid the foundation for one of the most advanced air defense weapons in America’s arsenal, the Patriot missile system.
After working in the arms business, Ryan went to Mattelwhere he was promoted to Vice President of Research and Design for a toy manufacturer.
On July 24, 1959, Ryan filed a U.S. patent detailing the concept of what would become the world’s most famous toy doll. Ryan received a patent for “”.doll constructionHe is also known as the creator of toys such as the Chatty Cathy and the Hot Wheels collection.
The first Barbie patent made from the collection of Sid Belzberg and Alicia Belzberg.
James Rains | Corbis History | Getty Images
before him Died in 1991 By the age of 65, Ryan had amassed over 1,000 patents on his designs.
Meanwhile, movie theaters are adding showings to keep up with rising demand, as tickets for “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are selling well.
“Barbie” has already grossed $22.3 million domestically from Thursday night’s premiere, and is expected to reach at least $140 million over the weekend. “Oppenheimer” fetched $10.5 million on Thursday and is expected to make $60 million over the weekend.
read more: “Barbenheimer” departs be Off to a good start with total sales of $32.8 million on Thursday
Additionally, the two films are likely to generate more than $200 million in the next few days, with the weekend box office expected to be the year’s highest so far, with some analysts suggesting additional sales for “Mission: Impossible,” “Sound of Freedom,” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” could top $300 million over the weekend.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
