‘Barbie’ Breaks Box Office Record for Female Director with $155M; ‘Oppenheimer’ Smashes Expectations
Barbenheimer finally descended upon the United States over the weekend, with 'Barbie' coming out on top at the box office
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Barbie is making history!
As the year’s most anticipated tandem of film releases, Barbie and Oppenheimer, hit movie theaters this weekend, the Greta Gerwig-directed film came out on top, scoring $155 million in its opening run and marking the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, Variety reported.
Captain Marvel, which was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously held the title with $153 million in 2019, while Wonder Woman, which was helmed by Patty Jenkins, held the record for a film solely directed by a woman with $103 million in 2017, per the outlet.
Barbie also earned the biggest opening weekend of 2023, beating The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $146 million that was scored earlier this year, Variety said.
Oppenheimer, the latest movie from director Christopher Nolan, was released at the same time as Barbie and made an impressive $80.5 million in its first three days in theaters.
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The Margot Robbie-starring film that centers around Mattel’s iconic doll made $22.3 million in Thursday preview screenings alone, while Oppenheimer, which stars Cillian Murphy as Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, took in $10.5 million, according to Variety.
Alongside The Super Mario Bros. Movie and this weekend’s latest releases, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Little Mermaid and Avatar: The Way of Water round out the domestic box office’s overall top films in 2023 so far, according to Box Office Mojo.
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Both Barbie and Oppenheimer boast large ensemble casts full of Hollywood A-listers.
Aside from Robbbie, 33, Barbie stars Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya and Dua Lipa.
Oppenheimer, meanwhile, features Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, David Krumholtz, Josh Peck, Casey Affleck, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh and Jack Quaid, among others.
Barbie and Oppenheimer are both in theaters now.
