Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer and Margot Robbie as Barbie
Julien De Rosa | AFP | Getty Images; Stuart C. Wilson | Getty Images
“Barbenheimer” is off to a red-hot start on the domestic box office.
One-half of the viral web meme, “Barbie,” snared $22.3 million in Thursday night preview tickets, probably the most of any film released thus far in 2023 – topping the $17.5 million first-night haul of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and the $17.4 million bow of Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
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The R-rated, three-hour “Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, tallied $10.5 million from Thursday showings. That is in step with big releases corresponding to 2017’s “Wonder Woman” and this 12 months’s live motion “The Little Mermaid.”
Heading into the weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” is anticipated to capture upwards of $140 million, if no more, over its first three days in theaters. Meanwhile, Universal’s “Oppenheimer” appears destined to snare not less than $50 million, with some box office analysts expecting it could top $60 million.
The 2 movies could together generate $200 million over their opening frame. With additional ticket sales from “Mission: Not possible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “Sound of Freedom,” it might be the highest-grossing weekend of the 12 months thus far.
This excitement is way needed for the domestic box office after a string of recently released big-budget movies, corresponding to “The Flash” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” fell in need of expectations.
Major movie chains have indicated that ticket sales are strong for each movies this weekend and extra shows have been added to accommodate demand.
Some 40,000 AMC Theatre loyalty program members have purchased tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the identical day and the National Association of Theatre owners project that greater than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of the 2 movies.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
