According to studio estimates on Sunday, the DC superhero film Blue Beetle led the weekend box office with a modest opening of $25.4 million, displacing Barbie from the top position following a record-breaking streak that saw cinemas adorned in pink for a month.
The Barbie craze is far from diminishing. Greta Gerwig’s movie, which recently became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. release ever in the domestic market, nearly retained its No. 1 status with a fifth-weekend earnings of $21.5 million. It has amassed a staggering $567.3 million in North America and an astounding $1.28 billion worldwide.
The other component of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon continues to perform admirably, even in the advanced stages of its run. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer earned $10.6 million in its fifth week. With a domestic total of $285.2 million, Oppenheimer has achieved the distinction of being the highest-grossing film that has never held the weekend box office crown. The previous holder of this unusual record was the 2016 movie Sing, which earned $270.3 million while competing against Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Hidden Figures.
Internationally, Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer has enjoyed even greater success, accumulating an estimated global gross of $717.8 million by Sunday.
Blue Beetle, featuring Xolo Maridueña, made a debut on the lower end of expectations and registered one of the more modest openings for a DC Comics film. Initially planned for a streaming-only release, Warner Bros. opted to release Blue Beetle – the first DC movie centered around a Latino superhero – in theaters during the late summer, a traditionally quieter period for the box office.
The production cost of around $105 million was comparatively lower than the average superhero movie. Blue Beetle is among the last releases produced under DC Studios’ earlier management, with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking the helm last year.
The film, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and penned by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, received favorable reviews – notably better than the three preceding DC releases this year (The Flash, Black Adam, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods). Blue Beetle (garnering a 76 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes) stands as a rare comic-book adaptation that prominently features a Hispanic cast.
However, the film also encountered some unfortunate circumstances, not only due to the unexpected staying power of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Southern California was bracing for the potential impact of Hurricane Hilary, potentially dampening ticket sales in the region (though Los Angeles remained its primary market). Furthermore, akin to recent releases, Blue Beetle, which added an extra $18 million internationally, was hindered by the ongoing actors’ strike, preventing its cast from promoting the movie.
Universal’s R-rated canine comedy Strays didn’t fare much better. The movie, with voice talent including Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, secured fifth place with an $8.4 million debut. Comedies have faced challenges in theaters in recent years, and Strays faced additional obstacles since its star-studded cast was unavailable.
Strays narrowly lagged behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The Paramount Pictures animated release garnered $8.4 million in its third weekend, elevating its domestic total to $88.1 million.
The estimated ticket sales for the Friday-to-Sunday period at theaters in the US and Canada, based on Comscore data, are as follows. The final domestic figures will be revealed on Monday.
Blue Beetle: $25.4 million.
Barbie: $21.5 million.
Oppenheimer: $10.6 million.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: $8.4 million.
Strays: $8.3 million.
Meg 2: The Trench: $6.7 million.
Talk to Me: $3.2 million.
Haunted Mansion: $3 million.
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One: $2.7 million.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter: $2.5 million.
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