Cillian
Murphy
in
Oppenheimer
and
Margot
Robbie
as
Barbie
Julien
De
Rosa
|
AFP
|
Getty
Images;
Stuart
C.
Wilson
|
Getty
Images
“Barbenheimer”
exploded
over
the
weekend,
generating
an
estimated
$235.5
million
in
ticket
sales
and
reinvigorating
the
domestic
box
office.
“Barbie”
tallied
around
$155
million
during
its
first
three
days
in
theaters,
the
highest
opening
of
2023.
Its
counterpart
“Oppenheimer”
snared
an
estimated
$80.5
million
during
its
debut.
Final
numbers
for
the
pair’s
debuts
will
be
revealed
Monday.
related
investing
news
“I
don’t
think
anyone
could
have
reasonably
predicted
this
kind
of
confluence
between
‘Oppenheimer’
and
‘Barbie,'”
said
Shawn
Robbins,
chief
analyst
at
BoxOffice.com.
“If
you’re
going
to
a
theater
right
now,
the
communal
experience
is
reminiscent
of
major
Marvel
and
Star
Wars
films,
but
without
those
franchises
remotely
involved.”
More
than
18.5
million
tickets
were
bought
for
the
combination
of
Warner
Bros.‘
“Barbie”
and
Universal’s
“Oppenheimer,”
12.8
million
for
“Barbie”
and
5.8
million
for
“Oppenheimer,”
according
to
data
from
EntTelligence.
“It
was
a
truly
historic
weekend
and
continues
the
positive
box
office
momentum
of
2023,”
said
Michael
O’Leary,
president
and
CEO
of
the
National
Association
of
Theatre
Owners.
“More
importantly,
it
proves
once
again
that
America
loves
going
to
the
movies
to
see
great
films.”
Both
films
hold
a
rating
of
more
than
90%
“Fresh”
on
Rotten
Tomatoes
and
inspired
moviegoers
to
dress
head-to-toe
in
pink
or
don
suits
and
hats
during
their
screenings.
“People
recognized
that
something
special
was
happening
and
they
wanted
to
be
a
part
of
it,”
O’Leary
said.
“Our
partners
in
the
creative
community
and
at
the
studios
gave
audiences
two
uniquely
different,
smart
and
original
stories
that
were
meant
for
the
big
screen
and
movie
lovers
responded
by
gathering
friends
and
family
and
heading
to
their
local
movie
houses
across
the
nation.”
With
additional
ticket
sales
from
Paramount’s
newest
“Mission
Impossible”
film,
Sony’s
“Spider-Man:
Across
the
Spider-Verse”
and
Angel
Studios’
“The
Sound
of
Freedom,”
the
weekend
box
office
is
expected
to
reach
$302
million,
the
highest
of
any
weekend
in
2023,
according
to
data
from
Comscore.
“The
unprecedented
performance
of
these
two
films,
and
the
boost
it
gave
to
the
overall
movie
marketplace,
solidified
the
movie
theater
as
a
cultural
hub
and
epicenter
of
social
interaction,”
said
Paul
Dergarabedian,
senior
media
analyst
at
Comscore.
“Barbenheimer”
weekend
is
currently
set
to
be
the
fourth-highest
weekend
haul
of
all-time,
just
below
the
three-day
stretch
when
Disney’s
“Star
Wars:
The
Force
Awakens”
arrived
in
theaters
in
December
2015
and
helped
boost
the
overall
weekend
haul
to
$313
million.
The
second-highest
is
$314
million
from
April
2018’s
opening
weekend
of
“Avengers:
Infinity
War.”
Some
box
office
analysts
project
that
Monday’s
official
weekend
numbers
could
be
quite
a
bit
higher
than
Sunday’s
estimates,
and
push
“Barbenheimer”
weekend
up
the
charts.
However,
they
won’t
come
close
to
the
highest-grossing
weekend
ever,
which
occurred
in
April
2019
when
“Avengers:
Endgame”
hit
theaters,
drumming
up
$357
million
on
its
own,
and
leading
to
a
$402
million
overall
weekend
tally.
The
success
of
“Barbenheimer”
comes
at
a
time
when
the
domestic
box
office
has
faced
some
hurdles.
A
slew
of
adult-aimed
blockbusters
have
underperformed,
leading
many
in
the
industry
to
question
if
consumer
tastes
have
shifted
away
from
Hollywood.
Warner
Bros.’
“The
Flash”
has
fizzled,
Pixar’s
“Elemental”
failed
to
lure
in
family
audiences
and
even
the
return
of
Harrison
Ford
as
Indiana
Jones
wasn’t
enough
to
pack
cinemas.
However,
the
combination
of
bombs
and
blonde
bombshells
seems
to
have
inspired
plenty
of
moviegoers
to
leave
their
couches
for
the
cinema.
“It’s
a
historic
result
that
showcases
the
enthusiasm
audiences
have
for
a
variety
of
fresh
content,”
Robbins
said.
“These
films
have
exquisitely
tapped
into
the
cultural
zeitgeist.
They’ve
reignited
the
summer
box
office
flame,
and
they’ve
proven
that
studios
can
be
a
little
more
aggressive
with
counter-programming
strategies
in
the
future.”
Disclosure:
Comcast
is
the
parent
company
of
NBCUniversal
and
CNBC.
NBCUniversal
is
the
distributor
of
“Oppenheimer”
and
owns
Rotten
Tomatoes.
