It came down to the wire. But when the checkered flag fluttered over this weekend’s box-office derby, Gran Turismo beat Barbie and her convertible pink Corvette by the width of a bumper.
According to domestic box-office estimates, Gran Turismo (based on the real-world success of a video-game race-car driver) squealed into first place with $17.3 million. The film gunned to a quick start, earning anywhere from $3.9 million to $5.3 million (depending on the source) from early showings, then held off the hard-charging Barbie for the win. Gran Turismo tore it up overseas as well, collecting $36.5 million internationally to bring its worldwide tally to $53.8 million.
But don’t imagine that Barbie was shaking her fist at Gran Turismo (a la Sebulba in Tatooine pod races). This entertainment queen still has plenty to smile about. Not only did her movie almost take the trophy in a cloud of pink-colored dust (earning $17.1 million in North America), but it became (earlier last week) the year’s biggest film. Barbie has now earned $594.8 million in North America, running past The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the honor. To think that Mario thought Bowser was his biggest threat: Who knew it’d come from Princess Pink?
Oh, and we’re not done with the doll just yet. Barbie has earned $1.34 billion worldwide, which means it’ll certainly pass Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to become Warner Bros.’ biggest movie ever. (Barbie’s just about $2 million behind, according to Box Office Mojo, though some sources say Barbie has already sprinted past.)
And that makes this weekend’s box-office results a bit of a good news/bad news situation for Warner Bros. While Barbie continues to make money like Starbucks makes overpriced lattes, Blue Beetle lost 50% of its audience and fell to No. 3. The superhero flick collected $12.8 million in North America, pushing its total earnings to a less-than-super $46.3 million. Blue Beetle was to be the start of a relaunch of Warner Bros.’ DC Universe. But with Blue Beetle getting a bit squashed, that franchise relaunch seems to be on shaky ground.
Oppenheimer continues to blast its way to big box-office gains. It earned another $9 million to finish fourth. Christopher Nolan’s three-hour historical drama has now collected $300 million domestically. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem hasn’t gone back into its shell, either. The $6.1 million the film collected didn’t exactly shred the box office, but it was more than enough to finish fifth and buy a few pizzas besides.
Outside Gran Turismo, the weekend’s other newcomers struggled a bit. Retribution, Liam Neeson’s latest action flick, earned $3.3 million to finish eighth. The Hill, Dennis Quaid’s latest foray into Christian films, earned $2.5 million to land in ninth place. And Golda, Helen Mirren’s latest turn as a head of state, banked $1.7 million for 14th.
One final film to make note of: Bottoms—a really harsh-but-heralded R-rated flick, banked just $516,000 to land in 17th place. Hardly something to write home about, right? But here’s the thing: It was playing in just 10 theaters, giving Bottoms a staggering $51,625-per-theater average. That’s more than 10 times what Gran Turismo (which opened in nearly 3,900 theaters) earned per theater. So by some metrics, at least, Bottoms is on top of the box-office food chain.
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