Barbie's Record-Breaking $155 Million Opening and Oppenheimer's Surpassing $80 Million Debut

Greta Gerwig's neon-coated fantasy comedy "Barbie," which debuted to the largest opening of the year with $155 million, attracted a large crowd of moviegoers over the weekend. But they also came to watch "Oppenheimer," the R-rated historical drama directed by Christopher Nolan, which debuted to a staggering $80.5 million.

Numerous thousands of ticket customers were unable to decide between the two autistic-driven movies with large casts and same release dates. They chose to see "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on the same day, converting the box office competition into a classic double feature.

The director of the movie consultancy company Franchise Entertainment Research, David A. Gross, declares that this weekend is unquestionably fantastic for going to the movies. At the box office, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are enhancing rather than competing for viewers.

The fourth-largest box office weekend in history and the biggest box office weekend overall of the epidemic period were both fueled by the "Barbenheimer" cultural frenzy. It's important to note that the top three weekends of all time saw the success of the sequels to huge series ("Avengers: Endgame," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens") in their first outings.

According to Michael O'Leary, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the industry trade association, "Studios provided moviegoers two distinctly diverse, intelligent, and innovative stories that were made for the large screen. People wanted to take part in what was occurring because they could see that something exceptional was happening.

In the end, however, there was no contest as "Barbie" dominated box office charts due to an unstoppable marketing effort and picture quality that lived up to the astronomical anticipation. The movie brought in an additional $182 million abroad, bringing its impressive global total to $337 million.

The $145 million film, which was supported by Warner Bros. and Mattel, had an unusually large impact on public opinion in the weeks before its release (allegedly leading to a pink paint shortage). (Yes, Barbie is arguably the most well-known doll in the world, but the film isn't a sequel or a member of an established film series.)

We have a pink unicorn here, according to Jeff Goldstein, the head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. For the first weekend, $75 million was projected. The $155 million came as a surprise.

Analysts had projected a $50 million opening for the weekend, which would have already been impressive considering the film's somber subject matter and tone. Nolan's bigger-than-expected debut has further strengthened his position as a box office attraction across all genres. His appeal as a director also cuts across continents. "Oppenheimer" garnered $93.7 million at the foreign box office, bringing its total worldwide earnings to $174 million.

The PG-13 movie scored a "A" Cinema Score and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and both audiences and reviewers loved it. Initial audiences were predominately female (which, duh...), but that's noteworthy because it almost always happens to be the opposite for any movie that makes over $100 million in its first weekend.

"Barbie" broke several records, including the largest opening weekend ever for a female director of a movie. With $153 million in 2019, "Captain Marvel," co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, kept the top spot. With $103 million, "Wonder Woman," from director Patty Jenkins, set a record for a picture that was only directed by women.

The script was co-written by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach, the Oscar-nominated directors of "Lady Bird" and "Little Women," and Gerwig. The traditional Barbie and Ken, played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, depart the Dreamhouse on a journey of self-discovery in the outside world. Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, John Cena, and Will Ferrell are all included in the cast.

Though neither Universal nor Nolan seem to mind, "Oppenheimer" could be content to settle for second place. The biopic about the alleged "father of the atomic bomb" is vastly surpassing expectations for a three-hour period piece with little action.

Jim Orr, head of domestic distribution at Universal, describes the film as a "period piece" from the 1940s. That reveals a lot about Nolan's appeal and his talent as a director. He has an incredible reputation for narrating stories in the most expansive way.

The popular filmmaker of "The Dark Knight" and "Inception," Nolan, is well known for his Imax evangelism, and audiences have taken notice. PLFs, as they are referred as in the business, made up a whopping 47% of the movie's domestic revenue. Global ticket sales for Imax alone totaled $35 million.

According to Imax CEO Rich Gelfond, "Oppenheimer" in Imax 70mm has drawn crowds from across borders and sold out at 4 a.m. events all around the world. This phenomena is unparalleled in Imax, and we're only getting started.

For the first time in more than 20 years, Nolan isn't working with Warner Bros. on "Oppenheimer," a $100 million film. (Yes, those who supported "Barbie.") He broke up his relationship with the studio because of its regrettable choice to simultaneously air all of its 2021 film releases on HBO Max.

A star-studded character study of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Oppenheimer" is based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel "American Prometheus," which also won the award. Along with a cast that includes Florence Pugh, Alden Ehrenreich, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy portrays the guy who oversaw the activity at Los Alamos.

The other films playing in cinemas had to compete for scraps since "Barbenheimer" was consuming the majority of the oxygen at multiplexes.

With $19.5 million in its second weekend of release, Tom Cruise's high-profile sequel "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" fell to third place, down by 64%. The fact that "Oppenheimer" virtually controls the country's PLF footprint, where tickets are more expensive than conventional screens, didn't help.

The eighth entry in Paramount and Skydance's action franchise has so far brought in $370 million worldwide and $118.7 million in North America. The film will need to compete with "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" to justify its astronomical $291 million budget tag, though.