鈥� 鈥� didn鈥檛 just work 鈥� it spun box office gold. The of Greta Gerwig鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� and Christopher Nolan鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� brought moviegoers back to the theaters in record numbers this weekend, vastly outperforming projections and giving a glimmer of hope to the lagging exhibition business, amid .
Warner Bros.鈥� 鈥淏arbie鈥� claimed the top spot with a massive $155 million in ticket sales from North American theaters from 4,243 locations, surpassing 鈥淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie鈥� (as well as every Marvel movie this year) as the biggest opening of the year and breaking the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman. Universal鈥檚 鈥淥ppenheimer" also soared past expectations, taking in $80.5 million from 3,610 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, marking Nolan鈥檚 biggest non-Batman debut and one of the best-ever starts for an R-rated biographical drama.
It鈥檚 also the first time that one movie opened to more than $100 million and another movie opened to more than $80 million in the same weekend. When all is settled, it will likely turn out to be the fourth biggest box office weekend of all time with over $300 million industrywide. And all this in a marketplace that increasingly curved towards intellectual property-driven winner takes all.
The 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� phenomenon may have started out as good-natured competition between two aesthetic opposites, but, as many hoped, both movies benefitted in the end. Internationally, 鈥淏arbie鈥� earned $182 million from 69 territories, fueling a $337 million global weekend. 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� did $93.7 million from 78 territories, ranking above 鈥淏arbie鈥� in India, for a $174.2 million global total.
The only real casualty was 鈥淢ission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,鈥� which despite strong reviews and fell 64% in weekend two. Overshadowed by the 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� glow as well as the blow of losing its IMAX screens to 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� the Tom Cruise vehicle added $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $118.8 million.
鈥淏arbenheimer鈥� is not merely counterprogramming either. But while a certain section of enthusiastic moviegoers overlapped, in aggregate the audiences were distinct.
Women drove the historic 鈥淏arbie鈥� opening, making up 65% of the audience, according to PostTrak, and 40% of ticket buyers were under the age of 25 for the PG-13 rated movie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a joyous time in the world. This is history in so many ways," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution. 鈥淚 think this marketing campaign is one for the ages that people will be talking about forever.鈥�
鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� audiences meanwhile were 62% male and 63% over the age of 25, with a somewhat surprising 32% that were between the ages of 18 and 24.
Both 鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� scored well with critics with 90% and 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, and audiences who gave both films an A CinemaScore. And social media has been awash with reactions and 鈥渢akes鈥� all weekend 鈥� good, bad, problematic and everywhere in between 鈥� the kind of organic, event cinema, watercooler debate that no marketing budget can buy.
鈥淭he 鈥楤arbenheimer鈥� thing was a real boost for both movies,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淚t is a crowning achievement for all of us.鈥�
鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� had the vast majority (80%) of premium large format screens at its disposal. Some 25 theaters in North America boasted IMAX 70mm screenings ( ), most of which were completely sold out all weekend 鈥� accounting for 2% of the total gross. Theaters even scrambled to add more to accommodate the demand including 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings, which also sold out.
鈥淣olan鈥檚 films are truly cinematic events,鈥� said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.
IMAX showings alone made up 26% of the domestic gross (or $21.1 million) from only 411 screens and 20% of the global gross, and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� will have at least a three-week run on those high-demand screens.
鈥淭his is a phenomenon beyond compare,鈥� said Rich Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, in a statement. 鈥淎round the world, we鈥檝e seen sellouts at 4:00 a.m. shows and people travelling hours across borders to see 鈥極ppenheimer鈥� in IMAX 70mm.鈥�
This is the comeback weekend Hollywood has been dreaming of since the pandemic. There have been big openings and successes 鈥� 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home,鈥� 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water鈥� among them, but the fact that two movies are succeeding at the same time is notable.
鈥淚t was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,鈥� said Michael O鈥橪eary, President & CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. 鈥淧eople recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it.鈥�
And yet in the background looms disaster as Hollywood studios continue to squabble with striking actors and writers over a fair contract.
鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� were the last films on the 2023 calendar to get a massive, global press tour. Both went right up to the 11th hour, squeezing in every last moment with their movie stars. 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� even pushed up its London premiere by an hour, knowing that Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy would have to leave to symbolically join the picket lines by the time the movie began.
Without movie stars to promote their films, studios have started pushing some falls releases, including the high-profile Zendaya tennis drama 鈥淐hallengers."
But for now, it's simply a positive story that could even continue for weeks to come.
鈥淭here could be a sequel next weekend,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭he FOMO factor will rachet up because of this monumental box office event centered around the movie theater experience.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淏arbie,鈥� $155 million.
2. 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� $80.5 million.
3. 鈥淪ound of Freedom,鈥� $20.1 million.
4. 鈥淢ission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I,鈥� $19.5 million.
5. 鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,鈥� $6.7 million.
6. 鈥淚nsidious: The Red Door,鈥� $6.5 million.
7. 鈥淓lemental,鈥� $5.8 million.
8. 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,鈥� $2.8 million.
9. 鈥淭ransformers: Rise of the Beasts,鈥� 1.1 million.
10. 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� $1.1 million.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
