In the minutes immediately preceeding the rupture of a soap bubble,
distinctive and repeatable patterns can be observed. These quasi-stable
transient structures are associated with the instabilities of the complex
Marangoni flows on the curved thin film in the presence of a surfactant
solution. Here, we report a generalised Cahn-Hilliard-Swift-Hohenberg model
derived using asymptotic theory which describes the quasi-elastic wrinkling
pattern formation and the consequent coarsening dynamics in a curved
surfactant-laden thin film. By testing the theory against experiments on soap
bubbles, we find quantitative agreement with the analytical predictions of the
nucleation and the early coarsening phases associated with the patterns. Our
findings provide fundamental physical understanding that can be used to
(de-)stabilise thin films in the presence of surfactants and have important
implications for both natural and industrial contexts, such as the production
of thin coating films, foams, emulsions and sprays.