The box office battle between Barbie and Oppenheimer led to a record-setting opening weekend that ranks as one of the largest collective hauls in film history.
The “Barbenheimer” double feature phenomenon swept across the US as Greta Gerwig’s Mattel toy-inspired Barbie earned the title of 2023’s biggest debut yet with $162 million, while Christopher Nolan’s World War II period piece Oppenheimer raked in an impressive $82.4 million. As film critic Jonathan Boehle points out, it marks the first time in box office history that two movies each opened to over $80 million.
Globally, the films netted $344 million and $176.1 million, respectively. All told, Barbie and Oppenheimer resulted in the fourth highest-grossing box office weekend of all-time.
The Gerwig-helmed Barbie also marks the highest-earning debut for a female director, a distinction previously held by 2019’s Captain Marvel.
There seems to be no sign of the “Barbenheimer” hype dying down either, as both films earned “A” ratings from CinemaScore. Elsewhere, Barbie currently holds an 80 on Metacritic along with Oppenheimer’s “must-see” 89 Metascore.
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