‘Barbie’ Shatters Expectations at US Box Office

This week, the US box office is witnessing history in the making with “Barbenheimer” day. The highly anticipated releases of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are projected to rake in over $230 million in their debut weekend, signaling one of the greatest cinematic showdowns in recent memory, and one of the most lucrative weekends in box office history. Predictably, Gerwig’s widely appealing comedy is vastly outperforming Nolan’s intense drama, even though both movies are greatly surpassing their forecasted earnings for the weekend.

With a substantial Friday earnings of $70 million, Barbie is slated to amass over $155 million in its initial three-day run, marking it the most impressive opening of the year to date. The previous title holder was The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which generated $146 million in its debut weekend, and surpassed $200 million over the extended five-day Easter weekend. Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the beloved Mattel characters Barbie and Ken, the film has garnered rave reviews, with Ross Bonaime from FilmSweep praising that Barbie “could’ve easily been a mere advertisement, but Gerwig transforms this plastic world into something truly extraordinary.” Gerwig’s triumph is noteworthy, as she ascends from her mumblecore roots to becoming one of the most significant contemporary filmmakers. Barbie’s premiere has broken the record for the highest opening weekend earnings for a solo female director, exceeding the $103 million debut of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman in 2017. The film has also received a remarkable A rating on CinemaScore.

Barbie is screening in over 4,200 domestic theaters and has a significantly shorter runtime than Oppenheimer, which is being shown in around 500 fewer theaters across the country. These factors invariably impact the potential earnings of a movie. Longer films like Oppenheimer are unable to accommodate as many screenings in a day as the typical summer blockbuster, leading to studios often discouraging such runtimes. However, if there’s one director who has the clout to push boundaries, it’s Nolan.

Image via Universal Pictures

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Featuring Cillian Murphy in the role of the theoretical physicist integral to the creation of the world’s first atomic bombs, Oppenheimer managed to collect $33 million on Friday, and is predicted to have a respectable $77 million opening weekend. Although these figures do not match the $150 million-plus debuts of Nolan’s The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises from over a decade ago, they still surpass the weekend openings of Interstellar ($47 million), Dunkirk ($50 million) and Tenet (which had an irregular release amidst the pandemic). Like Barbie, Oppenheimer too has been lauded by critics, with FilmSweep’s Bonaime declaring it Nolan’s “most monumental and mature film yet.”

Two Films with a Combined Budget of $600 Million Seized Fourth and Fifth Places

Despite the powerhouses Barbie and Oppenheimer, last week’s top movie, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One didn’t disappear entirely. The big-budget action film is looking at a moderate 54% decline in its second weekend, after bringing in $5.5 million on Friday. This takes the film’s total domestic gross to over $100 million after 10 days of release — not ideal, but not disastrous either. The top five was completed by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which generated $1.9 million on Friday, pushing its total domestic earnings to $154 million.

For interviews with Barbie’s stars Robbie and Gosling, click here, and keep an eye on FilmSweep for more box office updates throughout the weekend.

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More about Box Office Records

• Greta Gerwig’s Directorial Journey
• Christopher Nolan’s Filmography
• Box Office Records
• The Rise of Female Directors
• Review of ‘Barbie’
• Review of ‘Oppenheimer’