Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is off to an incredible start, earning an astounding $70.5 million on Friday, including $22.3 million from previews. Barbie is expected to break records with a domestic opening of exceeding $155 million, a level usually only achieved by superhero films starring men or popular franchises like Harry Potter.
The so-called Barbenheimer weekend is here, and not only have both Barbie and Oppenheimer scored rave reviews but they have also brought in big money at the box office.
Barbie looks to be the clear winner of the weekend, having earned $70.5 million at the US box office on Friday (the biggest opening day of 2023 so far) and being projected to earn $155 million plus across its opening weekend. It’s also expected to score an international debut around $120 million, which would put it at a worldwide total of around $275 million.
Worldwide opening weekend estimates for Barbenheimer:
• BARBIE — $300M
• OPPENHEIMER — $165MWill be one of the biggest weekends in box office history. pic.twitter.com/7BdYtWvwks
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 22, 2023
This would put Barbie at the number one spot for the year to date, beating out The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $146.3 million US box office debut.
This may mean that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie comfortably beats Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, but that does not mean its opening weekend rival has been a disappointment – far from it.
In fact, Oppenheimer is reportedly looking at a $77 million weekend in the US, which would be Nolan’s third-biggest US debut (not adjusted for inflation) behind The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight.
