Hi, Barbie!: All the records the movie ‘Barbie’ broke in its first weekend of release

Barbie by Greta Gerwig raised an astonishing amount $155 million dollars nationwide (United States) over the weekend, giving the movie the biggest opening weekend of 2023 and the biggest debut ever for a female director.

The combined release of Barbie And oppenheimer by Christopher Nolannicknamed Barbenheimerhas become one pop culture sensationand could revive a struggling film industry.

Barbenheimer it was the industry’s fourth-highest-grossing weekend of all time in North America, with a total of $302 million on Sunday. Analysts think it will continue to grow when final figures are announced on Monday.

In the back of Barbie, oppenheimer opened with $80.5 million nationwide over the weekend, according to Comscore, a marketing research firm. Both films essentially doubled the predictions made a few weeks ago, said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore. It’s unprecedented to not only have two movies so good, but also help each other with the tendency Barbenheimerhe added. “I really can’t think of any parallels. Where both films were made bigger by the other.”

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It’s also a story of two trajectories, Dergarabedian notes, between a commercial blockbuster and a three-hour historical drama. “Both can be considered outright home runs, and both will perform differently in the coming weeks.”

The two films in particular can enjoy a summer with little competition Barbiesince there haven’t been any female-led blockbusters since The little Mermaid.

Barbie it grossed $70.5 million in North American theaters on the Friday of its release, including Thursday preview shows.

The film has had the biggest domestic takeoff for a female-led film. Your best comparison is Wonderwoman in 2017, directed by Patty Jenkins, which grossed approximately $38 million domestically on its opening day, according to Box Office Mojo. “Captain Marvel”, co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, grossed approximately $62 million.

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Barbie it was distributed by Warner Bros., which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. Preview screenings of “Barbie” grossed $22.3 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Mattel pop movie beat oppenheimer, which grossed $33 million on Friday, also an impressive feat. It’s a win for director Christopher Nolan, surpassing many of his previous successes: Origin grossed approximately $22 million on its opening day and Dunkirk $20 million, though it fell short of opening day numbers for Dark Knight And The dark knight rises.

You can expect this kind of foot traffic for major Marvel or Star Wars movies, Boxoffice Pro chief analyst Shawn Robbins said. It’s a good sign for studios that they don’t always have to play it safe, he said.

“When you have two highly anticipated movies, they work against schedule in many ways and don’t cannibalize each other,” Robbins said. “They can be successful at the same time.”

For Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. movie it had the largest opening of 2023 with $146.3 million domestically.

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A social media-driven campaign to see both films sparked a double-feature Barbenheimer phenomenon. That could bring the film industry a much-needed revival. Summer early-season releases such as “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” delivered disappointing opening weekend box office numbers, grossing $60 million in the United States and $70 million internationally.

“Everything about this movie and the toys is fun,” Sheri Lambert, a marketing professor at Temple University, told CNN. “I think people want to escape.”

Mattel is also not new to marketing nostalgia, which gets people “really excited” about movies that take them back in time, Lambert added.