The ‘Barbenheimer’ extravaganza life is ushering in a forgotten life to the box office, one that was climbing exponentially before a pandemic shattered hopes and dreams for many IPs and new chapters. Thus, the collective force of Barbie and Oppenheimer has continued a strong trend for the second weekend, with both films dipping around 43-45%, proving great legs lie in both of their futures.
The first part of the coin is Greta Gerwig’s colored fantasy pulled in $93 million in its sophomore weekend, the seventh-biggest second weekend ever. With $351 million in ten days domestically, it appears 2023 finally found its “Top Gun: Maverick” regarding legs. The specific melding of IP and artistic vision from Gerwig ensures all families will tag along to see the Barbies and Kens of the world. The film has blossomed to $750 million worldwide, crushing Fast X and even Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in worldwide totals. $1 billion is inevitable at this point, even if it could make a play to take on The Super Mario Bros. Movie and its $1.355 billion total. Whether one preaches over its thematic analysis of feminism or toxic masculinity is futile at this point; this is an unmitigated box office win.
Oppenheimer brought in $46.2 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $174 million and worldwide earnings to $400 million worldwide (already topping Batman Begins and Tenet for Nolan). At this pace, it could theoretically beat out Fast X (which would infuriate Vin Diesel), but it would have a better chance of whipping past $650 million worldwide. The feature has already paid off its debts, cemented Christopher Nolan as a marquee box office draw, and put Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. as the frontrunners for Oscar choices next year. Hell, it’s pretty much put every single category up for consideration. It may not be Barbie, but Oppenheimer is a contender for 2023’s best overall film.
In other news, Haunted Mansion arguably bombed with $24.6 million in its debut. One can chalk it up to Disney’s continued issues of high budgeting ($150 million here) and probably one of the worst times to distribute any other film to tackle ‘Barbenheimer.’ The company’s chances of highlighting its theme park rides might’ve succeeded as a temporary measure, but other than that, this will not have a chance in the coming weeks. Another newcomer, Talk To Me, attained $10 million, the second-highest opening for A24 behind Hereditary. Horror has consistently piqued audiences’ interest, and this was no exception.
Sound of Freedom continues to leg out like a champ, shy of $150 million domestically (even beating out Fast X domestically). The child trafficking feature has shown great frequency with legs amidst heavy competition. With $12.4 million in its fourth weekend, this will undoubtedly surpass $175 million. Insidious: The Red Door earned $3.175 million in its fourth weekend, putting it at $174 million worldwide and making it the highest-earning Insidious barring inflation. And Elemental is doing whatever it can to inch closer to $400 million to combat its hefty budget, while Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse inches close to $700 million worldwide.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny earned $4 million in its fifth weekend, ensuring this is a devastating loss to Disney’s flagship. Mostly good reviews cannot cover up a ridiculous budget, nor a final sendoff for Harrison Ford’s character. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 felt the wrath of ‘Barbenheimer’ and struggles to maintain footing and legs. Yes, it’ll pass $450 million worldwide by the end of this sentence, but it needs to attain $600 million at least, something its predecessors (since Ghost Protocol) have done seamlessly. Best of luck to Tom Cruise, who was on top of the world last year and now can’t keep up against Barbie and Christopher Nolan. In all fairness, his feature did release a week before the pop culture trend, but it was going to be a gamble. Had it been released in August, this would’ve had no real competition.
Next weekend sees the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Meg 2: The Trench, Dreamin’ Wild, Shortcomings, and The Passenger.
