“Balbenheimer” exploded over the weekend, revitalizing the domestic box office with more than $235.5 million in ticket sales.
“Barbie” made nearly $155 million in its first three days of theatrical release, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2023. That work, “Oppenheimer,” earned $82.4 million over the weekend, according to figures released Monday.
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“I don’t think anyone could have reasonably predicted how Oppenheimer and Barbie would merge like this,” said Sean Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com. “If you’re going to the theater now, the communal experience will remind you of a Marvel movie or a major Star Wars movie, but without those series remotely engaging.”
Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and Margot Robbie as Barbie
Julian de Rosa | AFP | Getty Images; Stuart C. Wilson | Getty Images
Over 18.5 million tickets were purchased in the following combinations: Warner Bros.“Barbie” universal According to EntTelligence data, “Oppenheimer” is 12.8 million and “Barbie” is 5.8 million.
“It was a truly historic weekend.” “2023 will continue to be a booming year at the box office,” said Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners.
Both films have over 90% “Fresh” ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, prompting moviegoers to wear head-to-toe pink, suits and hats during screenings.
“People realized there was something special going on and wanted to be a part of it,” O’Leary said. “The creative community and studio partners provided audiences with two unique, smart and original stories made for the big screen, and moviegoers responded by gathering friends and family and heading to local cinemas across the country.”
Add in ticket sales for Paramount’s latest “Mission: Impossible,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” and Angel Studios’ “The Sound of Freedom,” and the weekend’s box office is expected to reach $302 million, the highest for a weekend in 2023, according to comScore data.
“The unprecedented performance of these two films and the boost they have given to the film market as a whole has established cinemas as centers of culture and hubs of social interaction,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.
The ‘Walbenheimer’ weekend is now the fourth-biggest weekend ever, just short of the three-day record. Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opened in theaters in December 2015 and took the entire weekend to $313 million. The second highest was $314 million during the opening weekend of Avengers: Infinity War in April 2018.
Some box office analysts predict Monday’s official weekend numbers could be significantly higher than Sunday’s expectations, potentially pushing the ‘Babenheimer’ weekend higher up the charts. However, it will fall short of April 2019’s all-time box office gross, when Avengers: Endgame opened in theaters in April 2019, earning $357 million alone and an entire weekend of $402 million.
The success of “Barbenheimer” has come at a time when the domestic box office is facing several hurdles. Adult blockbusters are underperforming at the box office, prompting many in the industry to question whether consumer tastes are drifting away from Hollywood.
Warner Bros. ‘The Flash’ failed, Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ failed to attract family audiences, and Harrison Ford’s return as Indiana Jones wasn’t enough to sell out theaters.
But the combination of bombshell and blonde bombshell seems to have inspired many moviegoers to leave their couches and head to the cinema.
“This is a historic result that shows viewers’ enthusiasm for a variety of fresh content,” Robbins said. “These films exquisitely tap into the cultural zeitgeist, reigniting the summer box office flames and proving that studios can be a little more aggressive with counterprogramming strategies in the future.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is a distributor of “Oppenheimer” and owns Rotten Tomatoes.
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