It’s official, “Barbenheimer” is upon us and between Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, it has been the biggest summer blockbuster weekend at the box office since 2019! Head to head, Barbie is victorious at the box office while Oppenheimer has Barbie beat with the critics’ scores.
The weekend’s box office performance, totaling a whopping $302.0 million, clearly demonstrated that the media buzz surrounding “Barbenheimer” was far from mere hype. It became the biggest box office weekend of the year, the highest since April 26-28, 2019, when Avengers: Endgame set the record with a staggering $357.1 million on its opening weekend, contributing to a total of $402.1 million for all films that weekend. Not only did Barbie break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman.
It’s important to note that the last time Hollywood witnessed a comparable head-to-head competition between two new movies was with another Christopher Nolan-directed film. Back in July 2008, Nolan’s The Dark Knight from Warner Bros. debuted with $158.4 million against Universal’s Mamma Mia! in second place with $27.8 million. However, this weekend’s duo easily surpassed that combination.
Warner Bros. and Mattel received well-deserved praise for the spectacular launch of Barbie, which took the #1 spot at the box office, raked in an impressive $155 million from Friday to Sunday, and racked up an impressive $22.3 Million on Thursday. This marked the best movie debut of the year and the biggest since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which earned $181 million from November 11-13, 2022. Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, this movie represented the most high-profile appearance of the timeless American doll on the big screen.
The response to Barbie was overwhelmingly positive, with both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes giving it an impressive 90% score. Barbie, also known as Barbara Millicent Roberts, holds the distinction of being the #1 selling toy of all time, with over 1 billion dolls sold since her debut in 1959, averaging three dolls sold every second for the past 64 years. And despite her long history, Barbie’s popularity remains robust, with sales of $1.5 billion in Barbie and Barbie-related merchandise recorded in 2022.
REELated:
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie stands out as having the biggest opening for a movie based on a toy and the first live-action adaptation in the Barbie cinematic franchise following numerous animated editions over the years, most of which were low-budget productions released directly on DVD or streaming platforms. The path to creating this movie was not without its challenges, taking many years to come to fruition. Several studios were involved in the project before it finally landed at Warner Bros., with Margot Robbie eventually taking on the lead role. Nevertheless, the end result was worth the wait, and the creation of the Barbie Cinematic Universe now seems promising, with sequels and spin-offs already in the works and immensely vigorous toy and merchandise sales projected for the future.
In a bold display of counter-programming, Barbie’s dream house competed against the apocalyptic vision of Oppenheimer, which earned the #2 spot on the box office top ten list by earning $80.5 million. This opening marked the highest for an R-rated film since Joker earned $96.2 million from October 2-4, 2019.
Oppenheimer is an epic portrayal of the “Manhattan Project,” which developed the first atomic bomb, ultimately changing the geopolitical landscape and ending WWII. The movie boasts a star-studded cast, with Cillian Murphy portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer, supported by talents like Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, Florence Pugh, Gary Oldman, and Rami Malek. Both critics and audiences alike have applauded the film, with Rotten Tomatoes granting it a 94% score and certifying it as “fresh”.
Despite facing tough competition, Angel Studios’ Sound of Freedom continued to make waves with its inflated ticket sales thanks to its “pay it forward” ticket-selling app which made it possible for the film to, secure the #3 spot at the box office with $20.1 million over the weekend after experiencing a 26% drop. The film has impressively crossed the $100 million milestone, grossing $124.7 million and counting. Its success has been remarkable, considering its rise from an initially “unheard of” status to competing with blockbuster hits. With a dedicated fan following, Sound of Freedom is expected to maintain steady domestic and international sales in the coming weeks, possibly paving the way for additional films within the same genre or featuring the same characters.
Even Tom Cruise’s latest venture, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One, couldn’t withstand the competition, slipping to #4 with $19.5 million in its second weekend. This marked an uncharacteristic drop of 64% from its opening numbers. Nevertheless, the film has achieved global success, grossing $300 million worldwide in its first twelve days, slightly surpassing the estimated $290 million production budget.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny managed to hold on to the #5 spot after a drop of 45%, earning $6.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $159 million. After opening in first place at the box office, Sony’s Insidious: The Red Door has slipped down to the #6 spot in its third week after suffering a 50% drop in ticket sales. DIsney’s Elemental has maintained its presence on the box office top ten list, very slowly sliding down from #5 to #7 in its sixth week in theaters.
Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has now been in theaters for 8 weeks and has earned a total of $375 million during that time. Across the Spider-Verse took in $2.8 million after experiencing a 53% drop which puts the animated film at #8 on the box office top ten list.
Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is also available on premium video on demand, slipped from #7 to #9 on the box office top ten list earning $1.1 million and Sony’s No Hard Feelings earned just over $1 million in its fifth week in theaters, slipping from #8 to #10.
1. Barbie (Warner Bros. Discovery) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 81; Est. budget: $145 million
$155,000,000 in 4,243 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $36,531; Cumulative: $155,000,000
2. Oppenheimer (Universal) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 90; Est. budget: $100 million
$80,500,000 in 3,610 theaters; PTA: $22,299; Cumulative: $80,500,000
3. Sound of Freedom (Angel) Week 3; Last weekend #2
$20,141,000 (-26%) in 3,265 in 3,285 (+20) theaters); PTA: $6,131; Cumulative: $124,749,000
4. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning: Part One (Paramount) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$19,500,000 (-64%) in 4,321 (- 6) theaters; PTA: $4,513; Cumulative: $118,753,000
5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Disney) Week 4; Last weekend #4
$6,700,000 (-45%) in 2,885 (-980) theaters; PTA: $2,322; Cumulative: $159,019,000
6. Insidious: The Red Door (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #3
$6,500,000 (-50%) in 2,544 (-634) theaters; PTA: $2,545; Cumulative: $71,002,000
7. Elemental (Disney) Week 6; Last weekend #5
$5,800,000 (-36%) in 2,720 (-515) theaters; PTA: $2,132; Cumulative: $137,234,000
8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony) Week 8; Last weekend #6
$2,815,000 (-53%) in 1,669 (-908) theaters; PTA: $1,687; Cumulative: $375,209,000
9. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) Week 7; Last weekend #7; also on PVOD
$1,120,000 (-67%) in 834 (-1,207) theaters; PTA: $1,343; Cumulative: $155,643,000
10. No Hard Feelings (Sony) Week 5; Last weekend #8
$1,075,000 (-67%) in 1,017 (-1,036) theaters; PTA: $1,037; Cumulative: $49,211,000
In total, all movies playing in theaters during this weekend amassed $302 million domestically, a substantial improvement from the $127 million earned the previous year when Nope opened with $44.4 million.
