‘Barbie’ movie’s $155 million opening weekend is year’s biggest

This weekend, moviegoers flocked to the theaters in droves to see Barbie, a comedy about the popular fashion doll. Barbie delivered the kind of summer blockbuster that theaters and Hollywood studios used to frequently anticipate.

According to a statement released by the studio on Sunday, the Warner Bros. release earned $155 million in ticket sales, making it the top film in both US and Canadian theaters. This made it the year’s highest-earning opening, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $146.4 million record.

The movie opened on the same weekend as Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s biopic of the man who created the atomic bomb, which, according to Universal Pictures, made $80.5 million.

At theaters like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cineworld Group Plc’s Regal, an estimated 200,000+ moviegoers purchased tickets to watch both new films on the same day, a phenomenon dubbed “Barbenheimer.”

The concurrent releases energized moviegoers and probably contributed to one of the strongest film weekends in recent memory. The weekend box office for all movies, according to Warner Bros., exceeded $300 million.

The movies are a bright spot in an otherwise trying summer for the movie business, which has seen underwhelming box office returns from high-profile productions like The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie, in which Margot Robbie plays the titular role, was projected to gross between $140 million and $175 million in its domestic opening, per market researcher Boxoffice Pro. Forecasts significantly increased in recent weeks as the film received increased media attention.

The image makes fun of the doll’s past while addressing complaints about her exaggerated appearance and materialistic outlook. It follows the protagonist as she escapes the ideal setting established by toymaker Mattel Inc. and into a setting with actual people who have been affected by the doll.

Barbie was greatly promoted, even by Hollywood standards, including a life-size replica of her Dreamhouse in Malibu, California, and enormous pink boxes in movie theaters where fans could have their pictures taken. Many moviegoers, including grownups, wore pink or costumed as movie characters.

Comedic element

According to Robert Marich, author of Marketing to Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics, Ryan Gosling’s appearance as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken added a comic element that probably connected with fans who might not have otherwise wanted to see a film about a fashion doll. The trailers and other promotional materials made this clear.

He stated, “The Ken marketing was hilarious.”

The film’s popularity is also a win for El Segundo, California-based Mattel, which is attempting to transform a vast roster of toy brands, from Hot Wheels to Barney, into motion picture and television projects.

Additionally, Oppenheimer had a lot going for it. Tom Cruise’s most recent Mission: Impossible movie, which debuted on July 12, is likely losing money to Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film, which has a three-week lock on Imax theaters domestically.

The Dark Knight and Inception, two of Nolan’s previous releases, were both released around the third weekend in July. He went to Universal from Warner Bros. after the latter simultaneously streamed his picture Tenet in 2020, becoming a fervent supporter of theaters.