Whilst “Barbie” is easily going to be the expected winner at the box office this weekend yet again, there’s now a genuine race on for second place as two new openers and the third weekend of “Oppenheimer” are battling it out for second place.
“Barbie” pulled in $17 million on Friday and is tracking for a $54 million domestic three-day haul this weekend – a drop of just 42%, which brings its domestic total to $460 million and suggests it will pass the half-billion mark domestically soon. The film is set to overtake the $1 billion mark worldwide imminently.
“Oppenheimer” is tracking for a $28.7 million third weekend, down just 39% from last weekend, to bring its domestic total to $228.5 million. It has already crossed the $500 million worldwide mark and is set to end with over $550 million by Sunday – overtaking Nolan’s “Dunkirk” total.
The highly acclaimed “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is in the mix with estimates being the film will take in $30 million over the three-day. Having opened on Wednesday rather than Friday, it’s also on track for a $45 million domestic haul by the end of Sunday.
With its tight $70 million budget, it’s going to be in strong profit soon, and its A CinemaScore shows audiences love it. International numbers aren’t clear as the film isn’t going day-and-date in many territories like most tentpoles these days.
Global numbers for “Meg 2: The Trench,” on the other hand, are quite clear with the film tracking for a worldwide debut of over $120 million – almost in line with its $129 million production budget. Domestically it’s headed for a $28 million debut – even with a disappointing B- CinemaScore and poor critical reviews.
Disney’s live-action “Haunted Mansion” collapsed. In its second weekend, the film is tracking for fifth place and a $9 million haul domestically – a steep drop of 63%. It will hit a domestic total of $42 million by the end of Sunday – not good for a film with a $150 million budget.
A minor controversy this week over one of its crowdfunding backers hasn’t dampened “Sound of Freedom,” which is falling only 39% in its sixth weekend for a sixth place $7.8 million weekend haul. Its domestic total sits at $164.2 million, which has seen it surpass “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and become of the ten highest-grossing domestic releases this year.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” is down to seventh in its fourth weekend with a 38% drop to $6.6 million and a $151.2 million domestic total. A24’s Aussie horror “Talk to Me” is at $6 million in eighth place, a second weekend drop of just 42% which is very strong for horror.
Source: Variety
