Barbie becomes the highest-grossing film of 2023 with $155 million grossed.
Although in its opening weekend the Greta Gerwig film competed with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” “Barbie” managed to double many analysts’ predictions.
In its opening weekend, “Barbie” grossed an estimated $155 million domestically, making it this year’s biggest release and by far one of the most significant successes for director Greta Gerwig.
The same weekend also saw the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” which grossed $80.5 million domestically, both releases have caused a furor among fans and audiences and have been dubbed “Barbenheimer”.
Between the two films a total of $302 million has been grossed as of Sunday’s close, but according to some analysts this figure may grow further. For Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, both releases managed to double the predictions many were making a few weeks ago amid an industry that seems to be struggling.
“I really can’t think of any parallel ever, where both films became bigger because of the other. Both can be considered absolute home run hits, and both will perform in the coming weeks in a different way,” Dergarabedian expressed.
In U.S. theaters alone, “Barbie” grossed $70.5 million on Friday, and both films have little competition.
Greatest hits directed by women
Given its record it is almost impossible not to compare Barbie’s production with other films directed by women as for example; “Wonder Woman” directed by Patty Jenkins with its release in 2017 grossed approximately $38 million domestically on the same day of its release.
On the other hand, this “Captain Marvel” co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck for its release grossed about $62 million.
“Oppenheimer,” a big hit for Nolan.
Although Barbie took first place this weekend before “Oppenheimer”, this film directed by Christopher Nolan, which tells the story of the father of the atomic bomb, has exceeded the expectations not only of critics, but also of viewers and even of its director.
Nolan has already accumulated some box-office successes such as Inception, which grossed around $22 million dollars on the same day of its release, followed by Dunkirk with $20 million dollars.