Released in theaters on July 19, the two feature films earned more than 235 million in revenue between them in a single weekend. A first since the pandemic.
Rather plastic doll or designer of the atomic bomb? Never mind, the two most anticipated films of the summer keep their promises at the North American box office: the toy Barbie, preceded by an intense marketing campaign, had the best launch of 2023 with $155 million in revenue over the weekend. Well ahead of Christopher Nolan’s latest film (Inception, Dunkirk, Interstellar), Oppenheimer, (80.5 million), biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb.
“A historic weekend” for cinemas
These figures, communicated by the firms Exhibitor Relations and Comcost, should allow dark rooms in the United States and Canada to total their best revenues (around 300 million dollars) over a weekend since the Covid-19 pandemic, which dealt a blow to cinemas.
“This weekend vividly shows that there is simply nothing better than seeing a movie at the cinema”rejoiced the president of the National Association of Theater Owners in the United States (NATO), Michael O’Leary, referring to a “truly historic weekend” for cinemas, weakened by competition from streaming platforms.
The two films, at the antipodes, were eagerly awaited. On the one hand, the feature film by Greta Gerwig Barbie and its legions of fans all dressed in pink during the sessions and, on the other, Oppenheimerthe tortuous portrait of the American physicist Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), designer of the atomic bomb played by Cillian Murphy (The wind picks up, Inception, Peaky Blinders).
The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon
Against the backdrop of a strike by Hollywood actors and screenwriters, the release of the two films created a stir: a “Barbenheimer” phenomenon even taking hold of social networks. According to NATO, more than 200,000 spectators had planned to see Barbie And Oppenheimer on the same day over the weekend of July 23-22.
“I saw on the internet that people wanted to do it and it seemed funny to me.explained Emma McNealy, a 35-year-old account manager living in Colorado, to AFP. I’m sure I would have watched Oppenheimerbut not as soon as the weekend of its release.” “I think a lot of women appreciate that a Barbie has more depth to the story, that it’s not just a candy cane doll”continues the young woman.
Better than Avatar and Mario Bros
Boosted by an intense marketing campaign from toymaker Mattel and Warner Bros, the new comedy from the director of lady bird does better for its launch than Super Marioinspired by the famous video game character (146 million at the beginning of April), or that the sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar (Avatar: The Way of the Water134 million in December 2022).
In a pop and ironic reinterpretation, where dripping pink and sequins are to be taken in the second degree, Barbie, embodied by Margot Robbie – Ryan Gosling plays Ken – is asked to swap her high heels for Birkenstock sandals to leave her perfect world of Barbie Land and dive into the real world.
For David Gross, who publishes the specialized newsletter “FranchiseRE”, this launch is a “record”.
“No comedy film, no matter what, has ever surpassed $85.9 million over a three-day launch weekend”he welcomed.
According to specialized sites, it is also the best launch in North American theaters for a film directed by a woman, ahead of wonder woman by Patty Jenkins (2017) and Captain Marvel, co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (2019). Produced by Universal Pictures, Oppenheimer also made a very good debut for a three-hour film, with 80.5 million receipts. A “great launch” according to David Gross, for whom “Barbie and Oppenheimer are complementary” and who insists: “Viewers move when there are good films”.
“Sound of Freedom” on the podium
Sound of Freedoma controversial child trafficking thriller, topped the box office podium with $20 million, followed by Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning (19.5 million) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (6.7 million).
Even if they are progressing, North American cinemas have not yet caught up in terms of revenue before the pandemic: according to the telecom group Comcost, over the period from January 1 to July 23, they earned 5.3 billion dollars in 2023, against 4.6 billion in 2022. In 2019, their score was 6.6 billion.