Barbenheimer Stays on Top

Blockbusters remain 1-2 for the weekend
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 30, 2023 2:30 PM CDT
Barbenheimer Parties On
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, left, and Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in a scene from "Oppenheimer."   (Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures via AP)

A week later, the "Barbenheimer" boom has not abated. Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer stayed strong this weekend, seven days after they conspired to set box office records, with Barbie taking in a massive $93 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Oppenheimer stayed in second with a robust $46.2 million. Sales for the two movies dipped 43% and 44%, respectably—well shy of the usual Week 2 drops, the AP reports. "Barbenheimer" has proven to be not a one-weekend phenomenon but an ongoing box office bonanza. The two movies combined have already surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

It's "a touchstone moment for movies, moviegoers and movie theaters," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. "Having two movies from rival studios linked in this way and both boosting each other's fortunes—both box office-wise and in terms of their profile—I don't know if there's a comp for this in the annals of box office history," he said. Every day it's played, Barbie has made at least $20 million. For a movie industry trying to regain its pre-pandemic footing—and now hobbled by strikes—the sensations of Barbie and Oppenheimer show what's possible. "Post-pandemic, there's no ceiling and there's no floor," said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. "The movies that miss really miss big time, and the movies that work really work big time."

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

  1. Barbie, $93 million.
  2. Opppenheimer, $46.2 million.
  3. Haunted Mansion, $24.2 million.
  4. Sound of Freedom, $12.4 million.
  5. Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, $10.7 million.
  6. Talk to Me, $10 million.
  7. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, $4 million.
  8. Elemental, $3.4 million.
  9. Insidious: The Red Door, $3.2 million.
  10. Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, $1.6 million.
(More box office stories.)

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