CPXGF - 'Barbenheimer' racking up hundred-millions heading into second weekend

2023-07-28 14:03:07 ET

"Barbenheimer" is only now heading into a second weekend in movie theaters, but the two-headed beast's record-smashing goes on all week long.

After opening last weekend with $162M, Barbie ( NASDAQ: WBD ) consistently drew weekday moviegoers -- and after another $21M on Thursday, has hit $258M in domestic grosses with its sophomore weekend just beginning. That makes it the fifth-biggest 2023 release already, and it's also cruised past a half-billion dollars on a worldwide basis.

There's no sign of a slowdown as the already ubiquitous movie adds another rack of theaters, to hit a total of 4,337 venues.

Its double-feature buddy Oppenheimer ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ) opened at $82.5M last weekend, and similarly hasn't slowed down on weekdays, reaching $117.9M domestically and adding another $112M internationally, for a global gross of $230M.

The two films will still be the story of the weekend, even as Disney ( NYSE: DIS ) is set to give another go to a film based on a theme-park ride. Haunted Mansion ( DIS ) drew $3.1M in Thursday previews and, as a third-place alternative to Barbenheimer, could hit the $25M range or even $30M.

Disney in 2003 released an earlier film, The Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy, that opened to just over $24M and ultimately grossed $75.8M at home and $182.3M worldwide.

And it's not alone in trying to spook moviegoers this weekend, as A24 releases more grown-up horror thriller Talk to Me, which should be happy with single-digit millions. Still to be seen is how last week's third-place entry, surprising hit Sound of Freedom (Angel Studios), fares in the mix after showing solid word-of-mouth business.

Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment ( NYSE: AMC ); Cineworld ( OTCPK:CNNWQ ); Cinemark ( CNK ); ( IMAX ); Marcus ( MCS ); Reading International ( RDI ); Cineplex ( CGX:CA ); National CineMedia ( NCMI ).

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