Four cinemas were set aside at Palace Cinema in New Acton for the few hundred people keen to see the Greta Gerwig film ahead of Thursday's official release.

And with pink cocktails in hand and photo booths ready to capture Barbie-worthy outfits, the fans made a night of it.

Wednesday's preview was a long-time coming for Barbie fan Zoe Turner.

Anticipation was high, with the Canberran hoping that the film - which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling - would bring laughter, tears and perhaps even the meaning of life.

"I've been looking forward to this film, probably for my whole life - so 25 years and five months," she said.

"Making the preview tonight was non-negotiable. The only thing higher than coming to the preview was going to the premiere, which unfortunately I was not invited to."

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The movie is set to be one of the biggest cinema releases since the pandemic, with the latest predictions expecting the film to bring in US$100 million ($147 million) at the box office in the first weekend.

And when it comes to the hype, it's near unmatched, with Palace Cinema head of marketing Alex Moir saying the anticipation is the highest the cinema has ever seen.

Judging by pre-sales, the cinema is expecting 10,000 people to come through during the film's lifetime on Palace Cinema's big screen.

"Usually we wouldn't see this level of engagement unless it was a James Bond or a Marvel film. Our presales are the highest we've ever had for a theatrical release, but we also have a bigger circuit than we did pre-pandemic," he said last week.

The film follows Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) who leaves Barbieland with Ken (Ryan Gosling) after her perfectly-arched feet flatten, and the de-Barbification process begins.

The film features a star-studded ensemble cast who will play alternate Barbies, Kens, and more Barbie universe faves, including Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, Ritu Arya, Issa Rae, and Ncuti Gatwa.

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