Greta Gerwig’s film about the Mattel doll and Christopher Nolan’s biography about the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, were both released worldwide on Friday.
• Also read: “Barbie” conquers the North American box office
• Also read: “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”: “Barbenheimer” madness!
Barbie was a commercial triumph, grossing $155 million at the North American box office and $337 million worldwide. Oppenheimer posted sales of $80.5 million in North America and an impressive $174.2 million outside the United States.
In North America, Barbie had the biggest weekend ever for a woman-directed film, beating Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 2019 superhero film Captain Marvel at $153 million. Greta Gerwig’s feature film also set a number of other records, including best opening of 2023, best opening weekend for its stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, and best three-day opening for a toy-based film.
“Oppenheimer,” in which Cillian Murphy plays the physicist, is the third-biggest biopic debut of all time in North America, behind “American Sniper” and “The Passion of the Christ.” It is also Christopher Nolan’s biggest debut for a non-superhero film.
This spectacular revenue was fueled in part by the Barbenheimer phenomenon, as moviegoers reserved seats to see these two very different films as part of an incongruously doubles programme.