Topline
Warner Bros.’ Barbie blew away expectation in its opening weekend, grossing $155 million in the U.S., while director Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb thriller Oppenheimer grossed $80.5 million—an even bigger premiere than expected for what’s considered the biggest movie weekend of the year.
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie,’ which premiered this weekend.
Key Facts
Director Greta Gerwig’s Barbie—which was projected to pull in $150 million in the U.S. through Sunday and another $150 million internationally—topped expectations, pulling in $155 million in the U.S. this weekend, Variety and Deadline reported.
New projections released Sunday put Barbie’s worldwide box office opening at $337 million, according to Deadline.
Barbie grossed $70.5 million domestically in its premiere Friday, including $22.3 million in Thursday previews, making it the biggest premiere of the year, beating out Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $54.8 million U.S. premiere, as well as Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($51.8 million) and a pair of Marvel sequels, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($48.1 million) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($46.4 million), according to data from Box Office Mojo.
The Mattel doll’s bright neon big screen debut had been expected to trounce Oppenheimer at the U.S. box office this weekend, with early projections pegging its North American weekend box office gross at between $95 million and $110 million, above Oppenheimer’s projected $50 million at the U.S. weekend box office.
Barbie’s $155 million opening weekend surpasses The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which pulled in $146 million over its first weekend in April, and has since grossed $573.9 million in the U.S.
It also stands above Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which made $120.5 million in its opening weekend, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($118.4 million), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($106.1 million), Disney’s The Little Mermaid ($95 million) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ($78.5 million).
Tangent
Oppenheimer, Cristopher Nolan’s atomic bomb period piece starring Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr., grossed $33 million domestically in its premiere, including $10.5 million in Thursday previews. The film, which has a reported $100 million budget, had initially been projected to gross $50 million in the U.S. over its opening weekend, though a better-than-expected first few days boosted its U.S. box office performance to $80.5 million, Variety and Deadline reported.
Chief Critic
Early reviews of Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, have been mostly positive, with critics lauding its “bubbly” humor as a “pink fever dream,” though some reviews have criticized its promotional aspect, with one critic slamming its script as a “grumpier-than-average women’s studies seminar.” Barbie has a 90% audience score and 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, just below Oppenheimer, which has a 94% audience and critic score on the site.
Further Reading
‘Barbie’ Records 2023’s Biggest Opening Day—‘Oppenheimer’ Third Biggest (Forbes)
‘Barbie’ Box Office Preview Beats Out ‘Oppenheimer’—But Falls Behind Year’s Biggest Release (Forbes)
‘Barbie’ Projected To Trounce ‘Oppenheimer’ With Up To $110 Million Box Office Open (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/23/barbie-living-up-to-box-office-hype-with-155-million-us-opening-weekend-biggest-of-the-year/