The figures of the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon in the United States

Cinemas finally have something to celebrate. ‘Barbie’a comedy about the famous fashion doll, and ‘oppenheimer’a biography of the inventor of the atomic bomb, drew moviegoers in droves, helping to more than double US box office receipts this weekend from the previous year. up to about 311 million dollars.

“Barbie” by Warner Bros.was the most viewed film in theaters in the US and Canada, with 162 million dollars in tickets soldas reported by Comscore Inc. With this figure, ‘Barbie’ becomes the highest-grossing film of the year, surpassing the 146.4 million dollars collected in April by the film of ‘Super Mario Bros’.

(Thanks to ‘Barbie’, Margot Robbie will pay off her mom’s mortgage.)

The film debuted the same weekend as ‘Oppenheimer’, from director Christopher Nolanwhich collected $82.5 million. More than 200,000 viewers are estimated to have bought tickets to see both premieres on the same day at networks including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cineworld Group Plc’s Regal, a phenomenon known as ‘Barbenheimer’.

Simultaneous releases energized moviegoers, helping theaters get their best weekend since ‘Avengers: Endgame’ debuted in April 2019. Other notable performers include ‘Sound of Freedom’a movie about child sex trafficking, which grossed about $19.8 million in its third weekend, according to Comscore.

The unlikely summer hit outpaced ‘Mission Impossible: Deadly Judgment – Part 1’of Paramount Pictureswhich fell to fourth place with $19.4 million. The weekend was a bright spark in a difficult summer for the film industry, which has suffered disappointing results from big-budget movies like ‘The Flash’ and ‘Indiana Jones’.

(‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ would mark the business in the theaters of the country).

It was expected that ‘Barbie’, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring margot robbiewill generate between 140 and 175 million dollars in its national premiere, according to Boxoffice Pro. Forecasts have risen sharply in recent weeks, when the film received a lot of media attention. According to Warner Bros., the film grossed a further $194.3 million in international markets.

The film pokes fun at the doll’s history while also addressing criticism of her unrealistic figure and materialistic nature. Follow the character as she steps out of the perfect world created by toymaker Mattel Inc. and into one with real people the doll has made an impact on.

Mattel shares rose 1.8% on Monday in NYwhile those of Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc. they were down 2.5%.

(The difficult and atypical life of Ruth Handler, the creator of ‘Barbie’).

‘Barbie’ was heavily promoted, even by the standards of hollywoodwhich included a life-size replica of his ‘Dream House’ in Malibu, California, and giant pink boxes in theaters where fans could take photos. Many viewers, including adults, wore pink like the characters in the film.

ryan goslingIn the role of ‘ken’the boyfriend of ‘Barbie’, brought a comedic element that likely resonated with fans who might not otherwise have wanted to see a movie about a fashion doll, according to Robert Marich, author of Marketing to Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics. This was evident in the trailers and other promotions. “The ‘Ken’ Marketing Was Hilarious“, it states.

The film’s success is also a victory for mattelbased in El Segundo, California, which is trying to adapt a long list of toy brands, from ‘Hot Wheels’ to ‘Barney’to film and television properties.

(The Barbie wave takes brands around the world).

Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer” also had a lot going for it. The new film from director Nolan has been in Imax theaters for three weeks. Almost half of the tickets sold for ‘Oppenheimer’ in the US and Canada corresponded to the so-called premium large-format screens, and Imax screens represented 26% of the national box office.

Nolan has traditionally released his films, such as ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’ and ‘Inception’, on the third weekend of July. A staunch defender of movie theaters, he moved to Universal from Warner Bros. after the latter decided to release its 2021 catalog of films simultaneously on streaming.

Bloomberg