The film “Barbie” had a sensational debut at the box office, earning an impressive $155 million over the weekend. This not only marks the biggest opening of the year but also the largest opening for any film directed by a woman, as estimated on Sunday.
Derived from Mattel’s iconic doll introduced in 1959, director Greta Gerwig brings the live-action adaptation to life. With a star-studded cast including Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, audiences are captivated by the beloved characters that have evolved since their inception in the 1960s.
The previous records for opening weekends by female-directed films were held by “Captain Marvel,” co-directed by Anna Boden, which earned $153 million in its initial release, and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” which debuted with $103 million in North America back in 2017.
Additionally, director Christopher Nolan’s biopic “Oppenheimer,” chronicling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s leadership in America’s atomic bomb development during World War II, also had a triumphant opening weekend with $80.5 million, according to Comscore.
The simultaneous excitement surrounding both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” has sparked the “Barbenheimer” meme, as fans plan to watch both movies on the same day. This overwhelming support resulted in the highest overall weekend box office gross in North America since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, totaling an impressive $302 million, making it the fourth-largest weekend box office gross ever recorded.
Another notable success story emerged in third place, as the faith-based drama “Sound of Freedom” amassed $20 million over its third week, bringing its domestic total to over $120 million.
Sliding down to fourth place was “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” which secured $19.5 million in its second week after debuting in first place.
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” in its fourth week, claimed the fifth position with $6.7 million at the box office.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases, according to Comscore, were “Insidious: The Red Door” ($6.5 million), “Elemental” ($5.8 million), “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($2.8 million), “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” ($1.1 million), and “No Hard Feelings” ($1 million).
Notably, the year-to-date domestic box office earnings stand at an impressive $5.392 billion, marking a 16% increase compared to the same period last year, according to Comscore.
