The Big Picture

“Barbenheimer” continues to dominate the domestic box office with Barbie and Oppenheimer delivering consistently high weekday earnings of over $20 million and $10 million respectively. After just one week in theaters, Barbie has already earned nearly $260 million domestically, while Oppenheimer has amassed just under $130 million. The combined global opening weekend earnings of both movies exceeded $500 million, revitalizing the movie industry and proving the popularity and quality of these films.

Fireworks are in store once again at the domestic box office, as the “Barbenheimer” event gears up for round two. After destroying records last weekend, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are eyeing excellent second weekend holds, with both movies having consistently delivered over $20 million and $10 million, respectively, on each weekday. The trend continued on Thursday, as Barbie grossed $21 million and Oppenheimer added another $10 million to its domestic haul.

After one week in theaters, Gerwig’s satirical comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling has made nearly $260 million stateside, while Nolan’s epic biographical drama is no slouch with just under $130 million. While Barbie is on track to make between $65 million and $85 million in its second weekend, Oppenheimer is eyeing a $35 million to $45 million second weekend haul. By Sunday, Barbie will have comfortably crossed the $300 million mark domestically. Oppenheimer, on the other hand, will soar past the $160 million mark.

Both movies grossed a combined total of over $500 million in their opening weekend worldwide, successfully bringing back audiences to theaters in what became one of the biggest movie events in recent memory. While the “Barbenheimer” trend might have started as a meme on social media, highlighting the contrasting qualities of both movies, it actually translated into tangible revenue for Warner Bros. and Universal. Perhaps the quality of both movies had something to do with, because Sony had no such luck last year when it re-released Morbius in theaters on the back of ironic “demands”, only for it to flop a second time.

Image via Universal Pictures

Can Haunted Mansion Pose a Threat to “Barbenheimer”?
Barbie debuted with a record-breaking $162 million in its domestic opening weekend, marking the biggest debut of 2023, and the biggest debut for a female filmmaker. Oppenheimer also exceeded expectations to generate $82 million in its opening weekend, cementing Nolan’s stature as one of the last remaining directors capable of attracting audiences to theaters purely on the strength of their name.

Both films will face little competition this weekend from Disney’s supernatural horror comedy Haunted Mansion, based on the popular theme park attraction. The movie opened for select screenings on Wednesday, and entered proper previews on Thursday, where it grossed $3 million. Haunted Mansion, directed by Justin Simien, is eyeing a debut between $25 million and $30 million, low for movie that cost more than $150 million to produce. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. Elsewhere, this week’s horror debut Talk to Me is eyeing an opening between $4 million and $5 million, after grossing $1.2 million on Thursday. You can watch our interview with Haunted Mansion star Wilson here, and stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates over the weekend.