It’s impossible to overstate the significance of Barbenheimer weekend to the domestic box office.
The July 21-23, 2023 frame where Barbie and Oppenheimer each debuted to way bigger than expected weekends generated, across the ten biggest movies in the marketplace, a combined $310.8 million, the fourth-biggest single weekend haul in history.
Barbie’s $162 million debut was the third-biggest in history for Warner Bros.
while Oppenheimer was only the 12th R-rated movie in history to exceed $80 million on opening weekend (it was only the 8th history to cross that threshold without being based on a comic book).
After years of Hollywood being terrified of ever opening a major movie the same day as a new Marvel Studios or Fast & Furious movie, Barbie and Oppenheimer showed how counterprogramming can inspire a rising tide that lifts all boats.
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