The two most anticipated films of the year, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, grossed $22.3 million and $10.5 million on their opening day in the US alone.
Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, tells the story of how a doll was expelled from Barbieland for not meeting accepted beauty standards. She starts a new life already in the real world.
Oppenheimer with Cillian Murphy is a biography of a physicist who developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II.
According to Collider, Barbie’s opening box office makes it the top show of summer 2023. It outperformed Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which grossed $17.5 million in previews, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ($17.4 million).
Analysts believe that Oppenheimer’s screenings are more modest due to the fact that the film is an hour longer, and it also has a more adult rating – R, while Barbie has a PG-13.
Barbie is forecast to make at least $110 million domestically this weekend. “Oppenheimer” is predicted 40-50 million dollars. Oppenheimer is also expected to show better long-range exposure thanks to its more mature themes and its IMAX exclusivity for the next two weeks.
Both films also received stellar reviews. Barbie currently has an 89% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 on Metacritic, while Oppenheimer has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 90 on Metacritic. It is specified that about 200 thousand spectators bought tickets for both premieres on the same day.
The confrontation of the films at the box office has already been called the battle of the titans. Barbie is backed by Warner Brothers, Oppenheimer is backed by Universal.
The two films beat out other notable films released earlier this year in previews such as John Wick: Chapter 4 ($8.9 million), Fast and Furious X ($7.7 million), and Indiana Jones and the Disc of Destiny ($7.2 million).
Both films look good to make good profits: Barbie is $145 million and Oppenheimer is about $100 million.
