Rain of millions at an American box office dominated by the Barbenheimer event: Barbie is the winner of the weekend with the record figure of 155 million, but Oppenheimer’s 80 million exceed all expectations.
The phenomenon Barbenheimer ignites the box office americano yielding staggering numbers. After scoring the best opening of 2023 on its first day of release, Barbie it is a river in flood and exceeds all expectations, taking home the sum record of 155 million takings obtained in 4,243 cinemas, with a dizzying average per cinema of 36,530 dollars. The rival does no less well Oppenheimer with 80.5 million rounds of collections. And it is also a record for Christopher Nolan’s film. Hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers refused to choose between the two blockbusters both headed by stellar casts decided to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, netting a record double feature. Result: the Barbenheimer event (with shower of memes included), sees the American box office flourish again and beyond.
“This is an unequivocally great weekend for going to the movies”says David A. Gross, head of Franchise Entertainment Research. “Barbie and Oppenheimer complement each other at the box office, but they don’t steal each other’s audiences.”
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In front of the pink battleship Barbie, which also marked the best opening for a film directed by a woman, Christopher Nolan certainly can not complain about the debut of his Oppenheimer. Backed by stellar reviews, the “father of the atomic bomb” biopic is vastly exceeding expectations for a three-hour period drama with little action and much talk. Faced with a screening of 50 million at best, the film directed by Cillian Murphy responds with a collection of 80.5 million obtained in 3,610 theaters, with an average per theater of $ 22,299, flying to a global collection of 174 million against a budget of 100 million.
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He doesn’t give up Sound of Freedom. The religious thriller based on a true story focused on child sex trafficking is confirmed as the revelation of the American summer. The film, starring Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino, collects another 20 million, exceeding 124.7 million in three weeks. Numbers that teach us never to underestimate the appeal of religion to a large portion of the American public.
Barbenheimer’s explosion causes Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One to experience a huge drop in revenues. After a respectable debut, the action starring Tom Cruise sees a 64% drop in takings, collecting only 19.5 million in its second weekend of release for a domestic total of 118.7 million. Check out our review of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
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Indiana Jones and the Quadrant of Destiny drops to fifth place, grossing another 6.7 million for a total of 159 million. Costing 300 million, the adventurous film marks a partial failure and still has a long way to go before it turns out to be profitable. Here is our review of Indiana Jones and the Quadrant of Destiny, which also sees Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and many other stars in the cast.