Weekend Box Office: BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER Earn #7 and #81 Sophomore Frames of All Time

Barbie

Last weekend, Hollywood was living in a Barbie world, as Warner Bros.’ comedy opened to $162.0M in first place, the #20 opening of all time.

It also marked the #1 opening of 2023 so far, at +10% ahead of the prior record holder, April’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie with $146.3M.

Now in its sophomore frame, Barbie declines a mild -43% to $93.0M, repeating in first place.

That marks the #7 sophomore frame of all time, an improvement after its #20 rank among all time opening weekends.

After 10 days, Barbie has earned $351.4M. Domestically, that’s already the #67 film of all time.

On the all time list, it ranks between 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($352.3M) and 2014’s American Sniper ($350.1M).

It’s also ranks #4 of the year so far, behind only:

1. April’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $574.1M
2. June’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: $378.7M
3. May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: $358.9M

It will pass Spider-Verse and Guardians within the coming days to claim the year’s #2 spot so far.

Overseas / global

This weekend, Barbie declined -32% overseas, milder than its -43% domestic drop.

Barbie has earned $423.1M overseas and $774.5M globally.

Globally, that’s already the #111 film of all time, and certain to crack the top 100 within days.

On the all time list, it ranks between 1977’s Star Wars with $775.3M (including subsequent theatrical re-releases) and 2021’s No Time to Die with $774.1M.

It also ranks #3 of the year so far, behind:

1. April’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $1.45B
2. May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: $884.8M

Barbie’s top overseas markets totals are:

1. U.K.: $61.6M
2. Mexico: $41.4M
3. Brazil: $33.5M
4. Australia: $30.6M
5. China: $25.2M
6. Germany: $21.2M
7. France: $21.0M
8. Italy: $20.5M
9. Spain: $18.7M
10. Argentina: $10.6M

Oppenheimer

Last frame, Universal’s historical war drama blasted to $82.4M and second place.

That marked the #2 runner-up film of all time at a weekend’s box office, behind only 2015’s Inside Out, which debuted with $90.4M behind the sophomore frame of Jurassic World.

It also marked writer-director Christopher Nolan’s highest (non-Batman) opening weekend, ahead of 2010’s Inception, 2014’s Interstellar, and 2017’s Dunkirk.

Now in its sophomore frame, Oppenheimer falls -44% to $46.2M, repeating in second place.

That’s the #81 sophomore frame of all time, an improvement after it debuted outside the top 100 openings of all time.

Compared to Nolan’s other original films, that sophomore drop is steeper than:

• 2010’s Inception (-32%)
• 2014’s Interstellar (-40%)

However, it’s milder than:

After 10 days, Oppenheimer has earned $174.0M. Through the same point in release, that’s:

• +21% above Inception: $142.8M
• +79% above Interstellar: $96.9M
• +71% above Dunkirk: $101.3M

IMAX comprises $47.3M of Oppenheimer’s domestic total, or 27%.

In its opening week alone, Oppenheimer already exceeded the final totals for such other World War II-set films as:

• 2014’s Unbroken: $115.6M
• 2014’s The Imitation Game: $91.1M
• 2014’s Fury: $85.8M
• 2008’s Valkyrie: $83.1M
• 2014’s The Monuments Men: $78.0M
• 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge: $67.2M
• 2019’s Midway: $56.8M
• 2017’s Darkest Hour: $56.4M
• 2012’s Red Tails: $49.8M
• 2016’s Allied: $40.0M

Overseas / global

This weekend, Oppenheimer declined only -26% overseas, milder than its -44% domestic drop.

Oppenheimer has earned $226.3M overseas and $400.3M globally. IMAX comprises $80.7M, or 20%.

Top overseas markets totals are:

1. U.K.: $34.8M
2. Germany: $17.7M
3. France: $17.3M
4. Australia: $13.4M
5. India: $12.9M
6. Mexico: $10.6M
7. Spain: $9.2M
8. Saudi Arabia: $8.0M
9. Netherlands: $6.8M
10. Brazil: $6.5M

Haunted Mansion

Disney’s family horror-comedy spooked $24.2M in a third place debut.

That’s exactly the same as 2003’s original The Haunted Mansion, which also opened with exactly $24.2M. 

Compared to some other family horror-comedies of recent years, it also opened:

• -16% below 2016’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: $28.8M
• -9% below 2018’s The House with a Clock in its Walls: $26.6M
• +2% above 2015’s Goosebumps: $23.6M

The estimated audience for Mansion was 61% female and 58% ages 25+.

Overseas / global

Mansion opened with $9.1M overseas and $33.3M globally – though its staggered overseas debut hasn’t yet begun in several key markets including U.K., Italy, Australia, and Japan.

Top overseas market totals are:

1. France: $1.8M
2. Mexico: $1.2M

Sound of Freedom

In its fourth frame, Sound declines -37% to $12.4M and fourth place.

With $148.9M after 27 days, Sound is the biggest box office surprise of 2023. Few would have predicted that it would take the title under a month to outpace the domestic theatrical run of some of this year’s most anticipated releases from major studios—including Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part I, Universal’s Fast X, Warner Bros.’ The Flash, and Disney’s Elemental.

The film has already exceeded the final totals of almost all of the biggest faith-based films of recent years – in some cases, far exceeded:

• 2014’s Heaven is for Real: $91.3M
• 2018’s I Can Only Imagine: $83.4M
• 2015’s War Room: $67.7M
• 2016’s Miracles from Heaven: $61.7M
• 2014’s God’s Not Dead: $60.7M
• 2014’s Son of God: $59.7M
• 2017’s The Shack: $57.3M
• February’s Jesus Revolution: $52.1M

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Last weekend, in its sophomore frame, Paramount’s action sequel fell a steep -65% to $19.3M and fourth place.

That sophomore drop was steeper than for the three most recent Mission: Impossible installments, the three most recent James Bond installments, and star Tom Cruise’s most recent action film.

Now in its third frame, Dead Reckoning falls a milder -45% to $10.7M and fifth place.

Reckoning has earned $139.2M through 19 days.

Here’s how that compares through the same point in release. It’s trailing its immediate Mission: Impossible predecessor, and has just fallen behind its 2015 predecessor as well:

• -16% below 2018’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout: $166.7M
• -2% below 2015’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation: $142.6M
• +13% above 2021’s No Time to Die: $123.0M
• -11% below 2015’s Spectre: $157.9M
• -66% behind 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick: $409.3M

Overseas / global

This weekend, Reckoning declined -43% overseas, just slightly milder than its -45% domestic drop.

Reckoning has earned $309.3M overseas and $448.5M globally.

It’s looking increasing unlikely to match the global totals of:

• Fallout: $786.6M
• Rogue Nation: $688.8M
• Ghost Protocol: $694.7M
• No Time to Die: $759.9M
• Spectre: $879.0M
• Maverick: $1.47B

Reckoning’s top five overseas market totals are:

1. China: $45.7M
2. South Korea: $28.0M
3. U.K. $26.5M
4. India: $14.7M
5. France: $17.5M
6. Japan: $16.1M
7. Australia: $12.4M
8. Taiwan: $11.7M
9. Germany: $10.2M

Outside the top five

A24’s horror-thriller Talk to Me opened in moderate release with $10.0M in sixth place, a solid start for the genre title. 

Disney’s adventure sequel Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes seventh place with a -40% decline to $4.0M. It’s earned $167.0M after 31 days. Through the same point in release, it’s running -42% below 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: $290.9M.

Disney/Pixar’s animated Elemental takes eighth place with a -41% decline to $3.4M. It’s earned $144.9M through 45 days. Though poised to finish among Pixar’s lowest-grossing theatrical releases ever, it’s exceeded the final totals of 2022’s Lightyear ($118.3M) and 2015’s The Good Dinosaur ($123.0M), despite opening below both titles.

Sony Pictures’ horror sequel Insidious: The Red Door takes ninth place with a -52% drop to $3.1M, as Talk to Me opens as the first true horror wide release competitor. Door has made $78.0M after 24 days, already out-earning the first, third, and fourth Insidious installments. It’s also running +4% ahead of the second installment, 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2, through the same point in release: $74.7M. With $174.3M globally, Door also becomes the highest-grossing among the franchise’s five installments, passing fourth installment The Last Key with $168M.

Sony Pictures’ animated superhero sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse takes 10th place place with a -50% drop to $1.4M. It’s earned $378.7 through 59 days. That’s +99% higher than the final total of 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse: $190.1M. Within the coming days, it will double – and then more than double – its predecessor.

Weekend comparisons

With $211.5M, this weekend marks the #49 biggest box office weekend ever and the #6 post-pandemic weekend.

With $311.2M total, last frame marked the #4 biggest box office weekend ever, behind only:

1. April 26-28, 2019 with $401.9M, led by Avengers: Endgame
2. December 18-20, 2015 with $313.0M, led by Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. April 27-29, 2015 with $312.3M, led by Avengers: Infinity War

Notably, those other frames were practically monopolized by one single new wide release, compared to last weekend which was dominated by two: Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Here’s how this weekend compares to last weekend, the same weekend last year, and the same weekend in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019:

YTD comparisons

Year-to-date box office stands around $5.72B.

Here’s how that compares to last year and the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, through the same point:

Top distributors

Grouped by parent company, the YTD leaders are:

1. Disney + 20th Century + Searchlight + Star: $1.56B
2. Universal + Focus Features: $1.32B
3. Sony Pictures + Sony Classics + Crunchyroll: $708.9M
4. Warner Bros.: $623.3M
5. Paramount: $556.3M
6. Lionsgate: $348.1M

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates: