Margot Robbie in Barbie
July 23, 2023
“Barbenheimer,” the social media coined buzzword for this weekend’s dissimilar theatrical openings for Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy comedy based on the Mattel doll Barbie and Universal Pictures’ Atom bomb biopic Oppenheimer, is shaping up to be the best box office weekend in years.
Led by Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird) and co-starring Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as the title character, the movie is projected to generate more than $155 million in domestic revenue through today (July 23).
Oppenheimer, about the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer who helped create the Atomic bomb, directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) and starring an all-star cast featuring Cillian Murphy in the title role, is estimated to sell $80.5 million in tickets — driven by large format screen such as Imax. Notably, the movie represents Nolan’s first away from Warner Bros., after the director parted ways following the studio’s short-lived decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate on HBO Max.
The two movies are projected to sell more than $455 million worth of tickets worldwide. The best opening in the pandemic era and No. 4 all-time.