Licca-chan: The Doll That Spoiled Barbie’s Fame in Japan

Barbie is currently taking the world by storm. But in Japan, the popular doll has never been able to gain a foothold against Licca-chan.

By Himari Semans

The Barbenheimer battle took place across cinemas worldwide this past week, with Barbie coming out strong against Oppenheimer. But you might be surprised to know that Barbie was — and still is — a huge loser in Japan.

If you asked Japanese kids, Barbie has nothing on their local favorite Licca-chan.

Barbie’s smash success

It was the box office battle of summer 2023 — –Barbie vs Oppenheimer.

The two began warming up the crowd last year on social media. In April of 2022, the word “Barbenheimer” surfaced on the internet. By gameday July 21st, it had gone viral.

More than a week has passed since the Barbenheimer battle opened in cinemas worldwide.

The results are in. Barbie’s pink Corvette ran over Oppenheimer before he could nuke her.

On Friday, Barbie directed by Greta Gerwig hit $578.7 million and is expected to reach the worldwide $600 million benchmark this weekend. Oppenheimer was reported…