Filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” are both on track for not just massive domestic debuts but global ones as well.
In fact revenue-wise, the overall weekend is expected to be the biggest cinemagoing weekend since the release of “Avengers: Endgame” back in 2019 as, according to Comscore, combined North American ticket sales are on track to cross $300 million.
First up, estimates are the female-fueled “Barbie” is headed for a historic $155+ million opening domestically, with others projecting a debut higher than that. In addition, the film is also set for an international debut as high as $120 million.
That’s record breaking on many fronts – the top domestic opening of 2023 to date and the biggest domestic start ever for a movie directed by a woman solo.
Whilst Gerwig’s film easily stood over “Oppenheimer,” Nolan’s historical epic is no slouch. Projections for it now stand at $77 million domestically for the weekend which would mark Nolan’s third biggest debut to date behind only “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises”.
Overseas, “Oppenheimer” is also headed for a strong $88.9 million opening. Both films not only landed great critical reviews but both pulled in ‘A’ CinemaScores from audiences.
The Tom Cruise-led “Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One” will be coming in third but sadly has been slightly hit by the Barbenheimer phenomenon as its second-weekend drop is expected to be more than 55% to $20-21 million.
That will put it in a close race with faith-based indie box-office sensation “Sound of Freedom” for third place domestically. The latter film hasn’t opened outside the U.S., where ‘Mission’ is much stronger as a franchise.
Domestically this will also mark the first three-day weekend in history when one movie earns $100 million or more and another $50 million or more.
Source: Deadline
