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Fresh data from movie theaters shows that fans are actually planning to see the highly-anticipated “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” movies on the same day — a five-hour, popcorn-fueled marathon social media has dubbed the “Barbenheimer.”

The world’s largest movie chain, AMC Entertainment, has already sold more than 20,000 double-feature tickets to its AMC Stubs members, according to Variety.

AMC Theatres’ executive VP of worldwide programming, Elizabeth Frank, told the outlet that since Friday, there’s been a 33% increase in the number of moviegoers who have made their own double-feature by purchasing tickets to see both movies on the same day.

“The growing online conversation around seeing both of these incredible films is turning into ticket sales,” Frank told Variety.

Frank added that she’s expecting double-feature sales to surge even more across AMC’s 95 theaters ahead of the films’ release on July 21.

In the UK, major cinema chain Vue is seeing a similar trend.

As of Tuesday, 19% of people who booked tickets to see “Oppenheimer” at one of Vue’s 850-plus screens also bought tickets for “Barbie,” according to Bloomberg.

Alamo Drafthouse, a US-based cinema chain known for serving dinner and drinks during screenings, also said it’s seeing demand for the “Barbenheimer” double feature, including for its private events business that allows customers to rend out screens for corporate events and birthday parties, Bloomberg reported.

Nick Isani, private-event sales manager for the East Coast at Alamo Drafthouse, told the outlet: The requests to hire out spaces for ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ double-bills have been coming in for months.

He added that it’s unique to see such a “significant number” of requests from customers wanting to see the films back to back, especially for movies that are so different.

“Barbie” — Greta Gerwig’s two-hour, PG-13, live-action movie about the world’s most famed doll — is expected to sell more tickets overall than its Christopher Nolan-directed counterpart.

Low-end estimates from Box Office Pro show that the movie will bring in at least $85 million during its opening weekend.

While there’s not much known about the plot or tone of Barbie, it stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, contributed to a pink paint shortage, and has inspired culture and fashion dubbed Barbiecore.

The movies IMDb page reads: Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence, suggesting that life in plastic might not be so fantastic.

BARBENHEIMER by @ThatTallGinger. Available now on our web store: https://t.co/0h1EsnASzQ. pic.twitter.com/e9P7eGRiLC

Barbenheimer poster art by @SteveReevesArt pic.twitter.com/75ompodFPJ

Meanwhile, Nolan’s latest biographical thriller is forecasted to make at least $45 million on opening weekend, according to Box Office Pro.’s estimates.

The film is a three-hour, R-rated feature documentary exploring the true story of how physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, developed the first atomic bomb.

Other than the fact that both movies hit theaters on July 21, they have almost nothing in common — but evidence suggests that moviegoers are genuinely excited about both films anyway.

In the week leading up to the film’s simultaneous release, the internet has been ablaze with memes, jokes, artistic mashups, and even merchandise that mashes the movies together into the “Barbenheimer.”

Twitter users and artists have taken to the platform to a slew of fan-made movie posters of the movie mashup, featuring the iconic pink block lettering reminiscent of “Barbie” in the foreground and the fiery background attributable to “Oppenheimer.”

Another rendering pictures the movie’s two protagonists, with Barbie sitting cross-legged on Oppenheimer’s shoulder rather than Ken’s.

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Guardians’ Arias carted off field with ankle injury

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Guardians' Arias carted off field with ankle injury

CLEVELAND — Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias was taken off the field on a cart after sustaining a left ankle sprain in the third inning of Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

X-rays were negative, and there was no word on the severity of the sprain.

Arias went deep into the hole to field a grounder hit by Masyn Winn with one out, but caught his left spike on the grass and awkwardly rolled his ankle. The ball wound up in left field for a single.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder immediately grabbed his lower leg and remained prone on the field for several minutes. He was fitted with an immobilizer before being lifted onto the medical cart that drove him off the field.

Arias is batting .231 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 77 games. This is the 25-year-old Venezuelan’s first full season as a starter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Astros’ Peña misses second game with rib injury

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Astros' Peña misses second game with rib injury

HOUSTON — Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña was held out of the lineup for a second straight game Sunday.

Peña continues to make progress after leaving the Astros’ win over the Chicago Cubs on Friday in the fifth inning because of rib soreness, manager Joe Espada said.

Peña was hit in the ribs by Cade Horton‘s pitch during the second inning Friday. Imaging did not reveal a fracture, and Peña has been able to swing a bat the past two days.

“It’s just still pretty sore, so no need to rush to get him in there,” Espada said.

The Astros are off Monday before starting a series in Colorado on Tuesday.

Peña played in the Astros’ first 82 games of the season and batted .322 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs.

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KKR leads £1.7bn race for Argos store-card owner NewDay

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KKR leads £1.7bn race for Argos store-card owner NewDay

The private equity firm at the centre of a string of bidding wars for British companies is leading the £1.7bn race to buy the owner of Argos’s store-card operations.

Sky News has learnt that KKR is the frontrunner to buy NewDay Group, which is owned by the buyout firms Cinven and CVC Capital Partners.

KKR is not in exclusive talks, and other parties – said to include Pimco, the asset management giant, KKR, and a Bain Capital-led consortium – remain in contention to acquire NewDay.

Some of the bidders, such as Pimco, have been interested in pursuing a deal to buy NewDay’s consumer loan book rather than the company as a whole; others including KKR are understood to be interested in acquiring the whole business, but potentially with its existing shareholders remaining invested for a period of time.

NewDay, which took ownership of Argos’s store card business last year in a £720m deal with J Sainsbury, the supermarket giant, has been exploring a sale or stock market listing for months.

Last November, Sky News reported that NewDay’s owners were lining up investment bankers at Barclays to advise on a process.

NewDay is one of Britain’s biggest privately held providers of consumer credit services, with about four million customers.

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Last year, it reported £213m of underlying pre-tax profit, with new customer acquisitions up 36%.

It also launched a technology and lending partnership with Lloyds Banking Group, and launched the pilot of a technology partnership with Debenhams Group in the final quarter of last year.

KKR has become engaged in bidding wars in recent months for Assura, the GP surgeries landlord, and testing equipment provider Spectris – both of which are listed on the London stock market.

NewDay, KKR and CVC declined to comment.

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