MCS - 'Barbenheimer' spurs fourth-biggest box-office weekend ever

2023-07-25 08:02:00 ET

The unlikely combination of Barbie ( NASDAQ: WBD ) and Oppenheimer ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ) had an explosive impact on the box office on the last big release weekend of the summer -- a stark turnaround from a summer of big-budget letdowns at the movies.

The two films' success, fed in part by a few hundred thousand social media-savvy moviegoers setting up an unlikely double-picture viewing, made the weekend the fourth-best in industry history in the final tally, at just over $311M.

Barbie -- the winking comedy centered on the iconic doll from toymaker Mattel ( MAT ) -- opened with a stellar $162M at domestic theaters including final Sunday numbers, according to Comscore, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie ( CMCSA ) for the year's best opening. The weekend result was beyond even optimistic expectations on the high side.

It's also the biggest domestic opening for a female-directed film ever, and the biggest opening weekend for a movie based on a toy, as well as Warner's biggest non-sequel, non-DC opener.

Meanwhile, Oppenheimer ( CMCSA ), the somber reflection on the creation of the atomic bomb, hit $82.5M when it had been expected to reach perhaps $50M (and its own studio, Universal, tried to dampen expectations with a $40M forecast). It's become the biggest global opening weekend for a biographical picture.

It's the first time a pair of films have combined for $100M-plus and $50M-plus openings.

That puts "Barbenheimer" weekend up among movie history's best domestically: Domestic theaters' $311M was only surpassed by the weekends that featured openings of Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And not by much: Endgame led a weekend that ended up at $402.1M domestically, while second-best was Infinity War's weekend, with $314.8M.

Barbie added another $182M internationally, marking the best industry opening of the year in 18 markets, Comscore noted (and the best opening for a Warner Bros. ( WBD ) film in 16 markets). All told the film has piled up $337M worldwide in the few days it's been open.

Oppenheimer added another $93.7M internationally to land at $174.2M globally.

"Barbenheimer" didn't leave room for many other stories at the movies, but also notable was the weekend's third-place film: The modestly budgeted human-trafficking story Sound of Freedom (Angel Studios), which grossed another $20.1M, edging the significantly bigger Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One ( NASDAQ: PARA ) ( PARAA ), which shed a hefty 64% from its opening weekend to land at $19.5M in weekend two.

Sound of Freedom has run for three weeks to Mission: Impossible's two, but it's a bona fide hit and so far has made more money (a cumulative domestic take of $124.7M vs. Mission: Impossible's $118.8M).

Dead Reckoning Part One ( PARA ) ( PARAA ) catches up more when considering it has an international audience: The film added another $55M overseas to land a $74.5M global weekend.

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

More on the box office

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• New 'Mission: Impossible' draws $235M worldwide in opening
• Is saving the 2023 summer box office an impossible mission?
• Hollywood actors go on strike, setting up historic entertainment shutdown
• Box office in 2023: Disney, Universal duke it out while Warner lags

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