Barbie has exploded at the box office on its opening weekend.
Box Office Mojo says the Greta Gerwig flick centring around the iconic Mattel toy shattered its revival Oppenheimer and has earned $337 million around the world.
In the US, Barbie took in $155 million, which is the biggest domestic opening of 2023.
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What's even more mind-blowing is that the film's budget was up to $145 million, so it's already made good on its investment.
The Christopher Nolan-directed movie brought in $174 million at the global box office which is still impressive.
Many opted to see each movie for a double feature on the same day, officially making this box office weekend the fourth biggest in history.
“This is an unequivocally great weekend for moviegoing,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, as per Variety.
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“Barbie and Oppenheimer are complementing each other at the box office, not taking audience from each other.”
As Barbenheimer became a popular culture sensation, people ‘wanted to be a part of it’, said Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the industry’s trade organisation.
“Studios gave audiences two uniquely different, smart and original stories that were meant for the big screen,” he added.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNN that this opening weekend was ‘unprecedented’ with films benefitting from their rivalry.
“I can’t really think of any parallels ever,” Dergarabedian said. “Where both movies became bigger because of each other.”
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He added: “Both can be considered absolute homerun hits, and both are gonna perform in the coming weeks in a different way."
Barbie also had the biggest debut for a female-directed film on its opening day.
Gerwig's project grossed USD $70.5 million in the US; defeating 2017’s Wonder Woman, which accumulated USD $38 million domestically.
Pop Crave claims Barbie has also been the biggest opening for a movie about a toy, the biggest opening ever for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and the biggest opening weekend for a movie that isn't a sequel, remake, or superhero movie.
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Boxoffice Pro chief analyst Shawn Robbins told CNN a Marvel or Star Wars flick usually brings this kind of money, and this signifies to studios that they don’t always have to play it safe.
“When you have two highly anticipated movies, they’re counterprogramming in a lot of ways and not cannibalising each other,” Robbins said.
“They can succeed at the same time.”
Many have also taken to social media to highlight the current Barbenheimer hysteria.
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One woman uploaded a video of herself walking in a black pantsuit resembling an Oppenheimer fan while unzipping her outfit to uncover her dark pink number underneath.
The woman proceeds to pose behind a giant Mattel cardboard Barbie box.
The clip had many amused, as one person wrote: “Ate and left no crumbs.”
While another marvelled: “I love how much fun we're all having with this double feature... maybe cinema is back! thanks Miss Gerwig and Mister Nolan.”
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros. PicturesTopics: News, TV and Film, Barbie
