MCS - 'Barbie' crosses $1B mark topping 'Meg 2' to lead movies for third weekend

2023-08-07 13:32:52 ET

Ken's OK -- but a Billy is better, in Barbie's world.

Barbie ( NASDAQ: WBD ), the big-screen adventure based on the iconic Mattel ( NASDAQ: MAT ) doll, led the domestic movie box office for the third straight weekend, and in the process crossed the $1B mark in cumulative worldwide grosses after 17 days on screen.

The pastel picture lost just 43% of its business week-over-week, a strong third-week hold, to gross $53M in home markets, Comscore reported. That added up to a cumulative domestic total of $459.4M, with another $572.1M from international markets.

Barbie is now 2023's No. 2 film both domestically and on a worldwide basis -- in each case, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ), with $574.2M and $1.352B respectively. It's also the first film directed solely by a woman to gross more than $1B globally.

Meanwhile, out of two new weekend openers, it was Meg 2: The Trench ( WBD ) that broke the "Barbenheimer" logjam, drawing $30M to finish in second place at home, and bump Oppenheimer ( CMCSA ) to third place with $28.7M.

The shark-action thriller also drew the biggest overall international take for the weekend ($112M to Barbie's $74M), making it also the top worldwide draw ($142M to Barbie's weekend $127M) despite some lackluster critical reaction.

That left an also-solid performance from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ( NASDAQ: PARA ) ( PARAA ), a new entry in a decades-old franchise that ended up with $28M, good enough for the No. 4 spot behind Oppenheimer -- but ahead of Disney's ( DIS ) more disappointing Haunted Mansion, which tumbled 63% week-over-week to gross just $9M.

TMNT: Mutant Mayhem opened on Wednesday, and counting its first five days, added up $43M. All in all, a strong top four meant a good weekend for movie theaters, with collective domestic grosses of $176.4M -- meaning that year-to-date industrywide domestic box office of $6.1B is up 23% year-over-year, Comscore noted.

While Barbie ( WBD ) has the headlines, Oppenheimer ( CMCSA ) is no slouch: It's reached a total of $228.6M domestically and $552.9M on a worldwide basis -- the sixth film from director Christopher Nolan to reach a half-billion dollars in worldwide grosses. It's the No. 7 movie of 2023 both domestically and worldwide now.

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

More on the box office

• 'Barbie' rolls on with Turtles, Megalodon taking their turn at the movies
• 'Barbie,' 'Oppenheimer' continue movie rule with strong second weekends
• 'Barbenheimer' spurs fourth-biggest box-office weekend ever
• Is saving the 2023 summer box office an impossible mission?
• Hollywood actors go on strike, setting up historic entertainment shutdown

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