“Barnenheimer” earned box office gold rather than just working. This weekend, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which combined on social media, broke attendance records. This performance exceeded expectations and offered hope to the struggling exhibition industry against the somber backdrop of strikes.
With a staggering $155 million in ticket sales from 4,243 locations in North America, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” won the top spot, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the year’s biggest opening and shattering the first-weekend record for a film directed by a woman. With $80.5 million from 3,610 theaters in the United States and Canada, Universal’s “Oppenheimer” also outperformed predictions, giving Nolan his biggest non-Batman opening and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama. With $80.5 million from 3,610 theaters in the United States and Canada, Universal’s “Oppenheimer” also outperformed predictions, giving Nolan his biggest non-Batman opening and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.
It’s also the first time that two films with opening weekends of more than $100 million and $80 million, respectively. When everything is said and done, it will probably rank as the fourth-biggest box office weekend of all time, with more than $300 million. And all of this occurs in a competitive environment increasingly driven by intellectual property.
The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon may have begun as a friendly rivalry between two aesthetic rivals, but as many had hoped, both films won. A $337 million global weekend was fueled by the $182 million “Barbie” made internationally from 69 different markets. With a $174.2 million global total, “Oppenheimer” performed better than “Barbie” in India, with $93.7 million from 78 nations.
The only significant loser was “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” which dropped 64% in weekend two despite receiving positive reviews and having a solid opening weekend. The Tom Cruise picture garnered $19.5 million, increasing its domestic total to $118.8 million, but was overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” glow and the disappointment of losing its IMAX screens to “Oppenheimer.”
Additionally, “Barbenheimer” goes beyond simple counterprogramming. However, despite some overlap among eager moviegoers, the audiences were different.
PostTrak said women made up 65% of the crowd for the historic “Barbie” debut. For the PG-13 rated film, 40% of ticket buyers were under 25.
“It’s just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. “I think this marketing campaign is for the ages people will talk about forever.”
Both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” received favorable reviews from critics, earning scores of 90% and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and from viewers, who awarded both movies an A CinemaScore. And over the weekend, social media was flooded with opinions and “takes” ranging from positive to negative to problematic everywhere. This natural, in-person discussion is impossible to purchase with marketing dollars.
According to Goldstein, the ‘Barbenheimer’ idea gave both movies a major boost. “It is the pinnacle of our efforts for all of us.”
“Oppenheimer” had access to the great majority (80%) of high-end large format displays. Most of the 25 North American theaters that offered Nolan’s chosen IMAX 70mm screenings were sold out during the weekend, accounting for 2% of the overall take. The demand was so great that theaters even added extra showings at 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., which sold out.
Jim Orr, head of domestic distribution at Universal, claimed that Christopher Nolan’s movies are “truly cinematic events.”
Only 411 IMAX screenings contributed 26% of the domestic gross ($21.1 million) and 20% of the global gross, and “Oppenheimer” will play on those in-demand screens for at least three weeks.
The CEO of IMAX, Rich Gelfond, declared, “This is a phenomenon beyond comparison. We’ve witnessed sellouts at 4:00 a.m. performances worldwide, and people have traveled hours across borders to see “Oppenheimer” in IMAX 70mm.
Hollywood has been waiting for this weekend to come back since the pandemic. There have been several blockbuster releases and triumphs, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” but it is noteworthy that the two films are doing well at the same time.
“It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,” said Michael O’Leary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners.
“People recognized that something special was happening, and they wanted to be a part of it.”
However, as Hollywood studios continue to haggle with striking actors and writers over a fair deal, tragedy looms in the distance.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were the final movies on the 2023 release schedule to receive a significant worldwide press tour. Both worked until the very last minute, trying to have as much time with their movie stars as possible. Knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Cillian Murphy would need to depart when the film started to join the picket lines symbolically, “Oppenheimer” even moved up its London premiere by an hour.
Studios have begun promoting some fall titles, such as the well-known Zendaya tennis drama “Challengers,” without the help of movie stars.
But for now, it’s a good narrative that may even last several more weeks.
Next weekend might see a sequel, according to Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “This historic box office event focused on the movie theater experience will ratchet up the FOMO factor.”
Comscore’s projections for Friday through Sunday theater attendance in the United States and Canada. On Monday, the final domestic data will be revealed:
- “Barbie,” $155 million.
- “Oppenheimer,” $80.5 million.
- “Sound of Freedom,” $20.1 million.
- “Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I,” $19.5 million.
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” $6.7 million.
- “Insidious: The Red Door,” $6.5 million.
- “Elemental,” $5.8 million.
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” $2.8 million.
- “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” 1.1 million.
- “No Hard Feelings,” $1.1 million.
