Barbie Rollerblades Her Way To $500 Million At The Box Office In Just One Week
The citizens of Barbieland don't seem to have much need for money (eating an all-imaginary food diet really cuts down on the grocery bills), but "Barbie" is making bank anyway. After teaming up with "Oppenheimer" to deliver the best box office weekend since the pandemic began, "Barbie" has skated her way to the half-billion milestone in just one week.
Deadline reports that Wednesday's box office numbers brought the total for "Barbie" to $528.6 million worldwide, of which $291.4 million comes from overseas markets. The movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and co-written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, grossed a staggering $162 million in its opening weekend. It's the biggest domestic debut of 2023 so far, and gives "Barbie" a decent shot at becoming the highest-grossing movie of the year — a title currently held by "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which has made $1.349 billion worldwide to date.
The record for fastest movie to $500 million worldwide is currently held by "Avengers: Endgame," which hit the milestone in just three days when it exploded onto screens in 2019. "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" hit $500 million globally after nine days, which means that "Barbie" is currently outpacing it. Don't underestimate the power of neon yellow rollerblades. There's a reason Ken literally goes nowhere without them.
How's Barbie's buddy Oppie doing?
"Oppenheimer" (or "Oppie" as he's known to his friends, a name he shares with another pioneer of science), had a wonderful weekend with his friend Barbie, and business is still booming. Per Deadline, Christopher Nolan's doom-laden biographical thriller had grossed $265.1 million through Wednesday, and is expected to pass $300 million worldwide today. That's a nice, comfortable launchpad for the second weekend of Barbenheimer. Box Office Pro is projecting an $80-95 million sophomore weekend for "Barbie" at the domestic office, with "Oppenheimer" expected to add another $45-55 million.
Nolan's film has particularly benefited from PLF (premium large format) ticket sales, which made up 47 percent of its opening weekend box office. The coveted 11-mile-long 70mm IMAX print is available at just 19 locations across the United States, and the print is so weighty that it's causing technical issues in some theaters. On Thursday, "Oppenheimer" actually derailed off the projector track at Grand Rapids North Celebration Cinema, according to local news station WWMT.
The odd derailing aside, premium tickets have provided a massive boost for "Oppenheimer" thanks to their higher price points. Sold out showings have also created a secondary market for ticket scalpers; on New York City's Craigslist, the going rate for two IMAX 70mm tickets at the AMC Lincoln Square (on both the "for sale" and "wanted" side of listings) is about $500. Universal Pictures secured a three-week exclusive on IMAX screens for the movie, but that run is very likely to be extended. Poor Ethan Hunt might not get his IMAX screens back any time soon.