Barbie breaks box office records with a US opening of $155 million.

Legions of Barbie fans and biopics descended on theaters this weekend for the “Barbenheimer” box office phenomenon, but one pink cast performance, in particular, held sway. by greta gerwig Barbie He has already broken several records, grossing $155 million domestically over the weekend: highest US opening ever for a film directed by a woman, surpassing the previous $153 million earned by Anna Boden captain marvel.

“The massive and overwhelming response we have seen proves what we knew all along: that ‘Barbie’ It’s not just an incredibly special movie, but clearly the theatrical event of the summer, if not the year,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Pictures’ president of domestic distribution, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this, and congratulate everyone involved in this brilliant labor of love.”

Barbie also dethrone The Super Mario Bros. movie ($146 million) as the highest-grossing domestic opening for 2023, and achieved $337 million in combined worldwide box office sales. No real losers this weekend though: Christopher Nolan oppenheimer it opened ahead of industry estimates with $174.2 million earned worldwide, with around $80.5 million achieved domestically. According AVClubthe combined earnings from “Barbenheimer” helped make this the fourth-biggest box office weekend for all movies in US history and the biggest No driven by Disney franchises such as Star Wars either Wonderful.

oppenheimer Similarly, he broke several records on his own. According Deadline (which compiled a list of all box office records achieved by both films), the R-rated historical drama had the biggest opening day and worldwide weekend for a biopic, having surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody$124 million. It is also Nolan’s third-highest-grossing opening weekend in domestic and global markets, and his biggest non-superhero film to date behind the dark knight rises ($161 million domestic) and The dark knight ($158 million).

If anything, these figures show that the hype surrounding “Barbenheimer” was serious. What initially began as a joke, playing on the fact that two films with such marked differences in tone would share an opening weekend, became an Internet phenomenon that saw 200,000 US viewers buy tickets to see both movies on the same day, according to the National Association of Theater Owners. Instead of choosing the low hanging fruit of making this event a “boys vs. girls” contest, viewers have chosen to support both movies. It’s wonderful to see such a celebration of cinema that doesn’t involve a multiversal superhero movie or its 15th sequel.