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Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Margot Robbie as Barbie
Julian De Rosa | AFP | Stuart C Wilson | Getty Images Getty Images
Barpenheimer exploded over the weekend, generating an estimated $235.5 million in ticket sales and revitalizing the domestic box office.
“Barbie” grossed around $155 million during its first three days in theaters, the highest opening of 2023. Its counterpart, “Oppenheimer,” took in an estimated $80.5 million during its debut. The final numbers will be revealed for the first time for the pair on Monday.
“I don’t think anyone could reasonably expect this kind of confluence between Oppenheimer and Barbie,” said Sean Robbins, senior analyst at BoxOffice.com. “If you’re going to a theater right now, the collective experience is reminiscent of the major Marvel and Star Wars films, but without the remote involvement of these franchises.”
Over 18.5 million tickets have been purchased for the mix of Warner Bros.“Barbie” and universal 12.8 million for “Barbie” and 5.8 million for “Oppenheimer,” according to data from Intelligence.
“It was a truly historic weekend And it continues the positive momentum at the box office for 2023,” said Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. “More importantly, it proves once again that America loves going to the movies to see great movies.”
Both films have a rating of over 90% “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes and have inspired moviegoers to dress up in head-to-toe pink or wear suits and hats during their screenings.
“People realized something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it,” O’Leary said. “Our partners in the creative community and in the studios presented viewers with two uniquely different, intelligent and innovative stories that were meant for the big screen and movie fans responded by gathering friends and family and heading to local movie theaters across the country.”
With additional ticket sales from Paramount’s latest “Mission Impossible,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Angel Studios’ “The Sound of Freedom,” the weekly box office is expected to reach $302 million, the highest for any weekend in 2023, according to data from Comscore.
“The unprecedented performance of these two films, and the boost they gave to the film market in general, has cemented the movie theater as a cultural hub and hub for social interaction,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Barpenheimer’s weekend is currently set to be the fourth-highest weekend ever, just under three days when Disney “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hit theaters in December 2015 and helped boost its weekend total to $313 million. The second highest was the $314 million opening weekend in April 2018 for “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Some box office analysts predict that Monday’s official weekend numbers may be slightly higher than Sunday’s estimates, and the weekend pushes Barpenheimer to the top of the charts. However, they won’t come close to its all-time highest-grossing weekend, which occurred in April 2019 when “Avengers: Endgame” hit theaters, grossing $357 million on its own and leading to a weekend gross of $402 million.
The success of Barbenheimer’s film comes at a time when the domestic box office has faced some hurdles. A large number of films aimed at adults have underperformed, leading many in the industry to wonder if consumer tastes have shifted away from Hollywood.
Warner Bros. The failure of “The Flash”, Pixar’s “Elemental” failed to captivate family audiences and even Harrison Ford’s comeback as Indiana Jones wasn’t enough to pack the movie theaters.
However, the blonde bombshell and bombshell combination seems to have inspired a lot of moviegoers to leave their couches for the cinema.
“It’s a landmark result that shows audiences’ enthusiasm for a variety of new content,” Robbins said. “These films made wonderful use of the cultural zeitgeist. They reignited the summer box office flame, and proved that studios can be more aggressive with counter-programming strategies in the future.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor for “Oppenheimer” and owns Rotten Tomatoes.
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