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Barbenheimer smashes box office, breaking multiple records in 4th biggest weekend ever -TGN

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  • The simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer has broken numerous box office records, with Barbie’s $155-$160 million opening and Oppenheimer’s $80.5 million contributing to a bombastic total weekend gross.

  • Directed by Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan, respectively, these films have garnered attention for their stark differences in genre and subject matter, despite both having critically acclaimed directors and A-list casts.

  • Barbenheimer’s box office success includes Barbie having the best opening weekend of 2023 and Oppenheimer securing Christopher Nolan’s best opening for a non-Batman film, making it the fourth best domestic opening weekend in history.

Barbie And Oppenheimer, both of which were released on July 21 and collectively known as Barbenheimer, have broken all sorts of box office records. The simultaneous release of the two films has spawned a bevy of memes celebrating how different they are, despite both being directed by Oscar-nominated directors and boasting A-list casts. by Greta Gerwig Barbie is a wacky comedy that follows the titular puppet (Margot Robbie) into the real world, as Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer is an intense biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and the creation of the atomic bomb.

Per Varietythe Barbie box office opening of $155-$160 million combined with Oppenheimer‘s $80.5 million (as well as the rest of the films currently in theaters) for a bombastic total weekend gross. Records are being broken left and right, too Barbie the best opening weekend of 2023 and the best opening for a non-superhero, non-sequel, non-remake title and Oppenheimer Grab Nolan’s best opening for a non-Batman movie. In addition, this weekend is the fourth best in domestic history after the opening weekends of Avengers: Infinite War, Avengers: EndgameAnd Star Wars: The Force Awakens. President and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, Michael O’Leary, issued a statement celebrating the amazing weekend at the box office, saying:

“This was a phenomenal experience for people who love movies on the big screen. It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023. More importantly, it proves once again that America loves going to the movies to see great movies. People recognized that something special was happening and wanted to be a part of it. Our partners in the creative community and in the studios told audiences two uniquely different, clever and original stories intended for the big screen and movie buffs responded by gathering friends and family and going to their local movie theaters across the country. The men and women who operate our theaters also responded by creating promotions and unique events to further enhance the movie theater experience for avid movie buffs. This weekend is a shining example of how there is simply no substitute for seeing a movie in the cinema.”

Has The Box Office finally recovered with Barbenheimer?

Cinema distribution has become an unstable prospect since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to global closures in early 2020. Since then, the box office has behaved somewhat erratically, with certain films earning record-breaking returns, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, but leaving others in the dust. But that seems to have changed in the past year.

2023 started off strong with the impressive January release of Blumhouse’s viral killer doll movie M3GAN. Other horror titles performed extremely well, with Evil Dead Rise And Scream VI after the success of 2022 horror box office hits like from the Smile. The Super Mario Bros. movie also broke many records for an animated release in April. The cash register is empty Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4and now Barbie And Oppenheimer have also broken records in the respective subgenres.

However, it remains to be seen whether Barbie And Oppenheimer becoming big hits will affect the overall box office in the long run. As summer draws to a close, the next tentpole blockbuster looks likely to be a guaranteed success Dune: part two in November. That’s a long time to wait for a big hit, and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike as actors fight for fair wages could see several titles postponed in the meantime, leading to an even more bare schedule for theaters, massively cutting their profits.

Source: Variety