Yep, it’s still Barbie’s world.
After turning the box office pink in its debut, Barbie proved to be still in fashion this weekend. It earned $93 million to claim the box-office title for the second-straight weekend. Variety tells us that it’s the seventh-biggest second weekend in cinematic history, trailing only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and a handful of superhero movies. Barbie has earned $351 million so far in North America. That’s still more than $220 million shy of the year’s No. 1 flick, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and its $574.1 million, but Mario might be getting a little worried. Malibu Barbie? More like Moolah-bu Barbie.
America’s favorite doll continues to wow overseas markets, too. Barbie banked $122 million internationally this weekend. All that cash has pushed Barbie’s total take to $774.5 million. Perhaps Mattel may soon introduce a new Tycoon Barbie line of dolls, complete with top hat and monocle.
Oppenheimer, the other half of the Barbenheimer blockbuster combo, continues to set off its own shock waves. It blasted its way to $46.2 million, finishing in the runner-up slot for the second weekend and pushing its domestic total to a seismic $174.1 million.
Faced with that terrifying one-two punch, Haunted Mansion, the weekend’s most notable newcomer, cowered in the corner. Disney’s latest ride-turned-movie earned just $24.2 million from foolish mortals, landing in third place. The Mouse House surely hopes for a second-week rebound. But thus far, Haunted Mansion looks a bit … dead.
The same cannot be said for Sound of Freedom, which (with all due respect to Barbie) remains the surprise cinematic success story of 2023. It collected another $12.4 million to push its earnings to nearly $149 million. To put that in perspective, Angel Studio’s Sound of Freedom has out-earned such cinematic heavyweights as Fast X ($146 million), Elemental ($145 million) and The Flash (107.7 million). It might pass plenty more before we close its books.
Oh, and it’s still ahead of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, which finished fifth with $10.7 million. (Its domestic tally stands at $139.2 million thus far.)
Two other newcomers to note: Talk to Me, a horror film centered on a very creepy hand, grabbed $10 million in its cold, cold fist to finish sixth. And The First Slam Dunk, despite being a pretty good movie, tossed up a bit of a brick. It earned $626,000 to finish 12th.
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-Christopher Nolan films tend to be rather hit-or-miss for me. “Tenet” used a highly implausible premise as an excuse for eye-popping special effects. And while “Interstellar” started off promisingly, by the time Ann Hathaway started getting all weepy about how “love transcends time and space,” I thought my eyes were going to roll right out of my head. But with “Oppenheimer” I think Nolan hit it out of the park. One of the best films I’ve seen in a while. A compelling story about a very important historical figure, beautifully filmed with a top-notch cast, and VERY well paced for the three-hour running time.