LOS ANGELES – With legions of pink-clad moviegoers swarming theaters, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” conquered North American box offices in its debut weekend, raking in $155 million, Sunday estimates showed — nearly double the cash of its second-place competitor.
The other half of the much-anticipated “Barbenheimer” cinematic weekend — which saw Universal’s much darker biopic “Oppenheimer” released the same day and spurred hundreds of thousands to organize their own double features — brought in its own whopping $80.5 million, according to figures from Exhibitor Relations.
“This is a record-shattering opening” for “Barbie,” wrote David A. Gross, of Franchise Entertainment Research. “No comedic film of any kind has opened higher than $85.9 (million) over a 3-day weekend.”
“Oppenheimer,” meanwhile, saw a “superb opening,” Gross noted.
According to industry estimates, some…
