The “Barbenheimer” effect on movie theaters is continuing to bring in historic numbers, as the double bill of Barbie and Oppenheimer is set for yet another weekend that will be spoken of in myth in years to come. Following the fourth-biggest box office weekend in domestic theatrical history, exhibitors are gearing up for another very busy weekend. Deadline is reporting that presales for both movies are the highest in industry history for a second weekend.
After an opening three day period which saw the two movies gross a combined half a billion dollars, the two films are now being projected to bring in more eye-watering numbers as demand for both movies continues to overwhelm cinemas. The Exhibitor Relations Company, an entertainment and research data gathering organisation, which supplies studios and media outlets the necessary numbers to help with box office projections, are reporting that Barbie will, in its second weekend of release, be adding 94 more screens across the country to cope with the demand from cinemagoers.
A movie adding theaters in its second weekend isn’t entirely unheard of, but for a movie that already opened in over 4,200 screens, that’s almost unprecedented. There are unconfirmed reports that Oppenheimer will also be adding more screens this weekend, for a total of 3,647.
Nuking the Opposition
After just one week in theaters, Barbie has already earned nearly $260 million domestically, while Oppenheimer has amassed just under $130 million. This weekend, Barbie is poised to rake in an impressive $65 million to $85 million during its second weekend at the box office. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has its sights set on a substantial second-weekend haul of $35 million to $45 million. By the end of Sunday, Barbie will have effortlessly surpassed the $300 million milestone in domestic earnings. In contrast, Oppenheimer is expected to soar past the $160 million mark.
The word-of-mouth phenomenon regarding the two, which began as a viral trend on platforms like TikTok, is working like Oppenheimer’s own atomic bomb — a chain reaction grows and grows which results in almost exponential growth until an explosion point. Both films have received critical acclaim from professionals, as well as high audience scores, plus Oppenheimer has IMAX screens sold out worldwide for the next two weeks, which will bring in profits at a higher price point. 47% of Oppenheimer‘s domestic tally was brought in by Premium Large Format film, with IMAX along representing $35 million of ticket sales.
Both films are still playing in theaters — but you might struggle to get a seat.
via Collider