Four days ago, projections had “Barbie” at a 3-day $158 million opening and “Oppenheimer” at $65 million.
Today, the numbers have stayed put for “Barbie,” it’ll open at around $155 million, but “Oppenheimer,” fueled by “Barbenheimer” is set to gross $80 million this weekend. The biggest non-Batman opening of Christopher Nolan’s career.
Job well-done, Mr. Nolan. And, of course, Ms. Gerwig. Their films are now responsible for the 4th best box-office weekend of all-time. Who says cinema is dead? It’s alive, for now.
Warner Bros. can also claim to have the biggest weekend debut of 2023. It’s also the all-time biggest for a female director. Will “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” have legs? That’s the big question now.
Just a few months ago, the long-range projections were “Barbie” at $50 million and “Oppenheimer” at $30 million. “Barbenheimer” fever helped both of these films practically triple what they were originally supposed to make. It’s really just unprecedented.
Truth be told, I don’t think we’re likely going to see another weekend quite like this one for a very long time. The future of moviegoing is still up in the air, where does it head now? There’s also an actors/writers strike that could shapeshift the entire industry.
Then again, Tom Cruise didn’t have a good weekend, at all. In only its second weekend of release, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” finished fourth with a paltry $19.5 million, a disastrous 65% drop. Its domestic total now stands at $118 million.
‘Dead Reckoning’ suffered from poor timing. It got caught in the “Barbeheimer” firestorm. What a shame, especially since, when compared to summer flops “Indiana Jones 5” and “The Flash,” it’s actually a good movie.