Believe the hype
After months of media buzz and online excitement, Barbenheimer finally exploded onto screens around the world this weekend. And, as far as box office takings go, the double bill lived up to expectations, with the two reportedly raking in more than $240 million in the US.
As well as that hefty collective sum, there were individual accolades for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer too — the Mattel-based movie was the highest-grossing domestic debut of the year, while the existentialist atomic effort became the third biggest open for a biopic in the US, behind American Sniper and The Passion of the Christ.
Double up
Much has been made of the disparity between the films, but for many moviegoers that only added to the appeal. Indeed, an estimated 200,000+ Barbenheimer-heads booked in to watch both films on the same day in chains across the US, contributing to the first 3-day weekend in domestic history where one film has hauled $100m+ and another crossed the $50m+ threshold too. Could big budget double bills, especially comprised of unusual content combos, be exactly what cinema needs moving forward?
While official numbers are still being finalized, current estimates put this weekend at a 4-year high for ticket sales in North America. With all the Barbenheimer discourse, it’s easy to forget that installments of Mission: Impossible, Indiana Jones, and Spider-Man are all still showing in theaters too — a bolstered lineup that’s contributed to the whopping $300.2 million total that is being touted at the moment. That would be the highest domestic figure since 2019, when Avengers: Endgame saw takings rise to over $400 million.
