Greta Gerwig’s Barbie will finish Sunday with well more than $700 million in worldwide ticket sales at the box office after serving up the biggest week in history for a Warner Bros. movie with $578.5 million. The pic is now assured of joining the billion-dollar club globally, as well as becoming the top-grossing movie ever for a solo female director, not adjusted for inflation.
To boot, Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer fueled the fifth-biggest week of all time at the domestic box office, with revenue for all films clocking in at an estimated $500 million, or thereabouts. Comscore won’t have a final figure until later on Friday.
“Like a perfect game in bowling or a no-hitter in baseball, a $500 million domestic week at the box office is an elusive commodity happening only four times prior in box office history and only once outside of mid- to late-December. And it has never happened in July until now,” says Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “It is incredible achievement owed in large part to the Barbenheimer craze that has boosted the fortunes of the entire theatrical marketplace.”
The four-top grossing weeks were led by the likes of Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avatar, according to Comscore. (Force Awakens is responsible for the No. 2 and 3 weeks on the list.)
In North America, Barbie earned another $21.2 million on Thursday for a domestic total of $258.2 million, the biggest week ever for Warners at the domestic box office. Nolan’s The Dark Knight was the previous best ($238.6 million). The movie will leap past $300 million on Friday. Overseas, Gerwig’s movie has earned an estimated $320.3 million through Thursday, an astonishing sum.
The question now is exactly where Barbie will land worldwide by Sunday; some think it could even cross $750 million, making it the third-biggest title of 2023 so far after only its second weekend. Currently, the year’s top global earners are Illumination/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.34 billion), Marvel/Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($844.8 million) and Universal’s Fast X ($704.9 million).
Friday matinee estimates suggest Barbie could earn $90 million or more this weekend, a scant 41 percent to 44 percent drop, according to sources. That would put its 10-day domestic cume as high as $350 million.
Barbie is a historic victory for Warner Bros. and toymaker Mattel, along with Gerwig and the cast.
In other Barbenheimer news, Oppenheimer grossed an impressive $10 million on Friday for a domestic total of $127.9 million. Globally, it finished Thursday with a sizable $292.6 million. As with Barbie, Friday traffic suggests it will enjoy a spectacular hold in its second weekend and earn $47 million for a 10-day domestic total approaching $175 million (that’s a decline of just 43 percent).
Elsewhere at Thursday’s domestic box office, Disney’s new entry Haunted Mansion started off with $3.1 million in Thursday previews (the tally includes select advance Dolby Cinema Screenings Wednesday evening). Among other Disney live-action pics, Haunted Mansion’s preview gross came in ahead of Jungle Cruise ($2.7 million) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($2.3 million). The new movie, directed by Justin Simien, hopes to benefit from being the only PG offering in the marketplace. It is tracking for a subdued opening in the $30 million range, although early returns suggest the launch could instead be $25 million.
July 28, 2:30 p.m.: Updated with weekend estimates for Barbie.
July 28, 4:40 p.m.: Updated with weekend estimates for Oppenheimer
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