Barbie on track to earn biggest ever box office opening for non-superhero film

Both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ have exceeded projections in a huge way

The Barbie and Oppenheimer excitement has resulted in one of the most lucrative box office openings of all time.

Both films opened on Friday (21 July), with their opening weekend box office tally across the world looking set to top the $400m (£311m) mark, which is a rare occurrence reserved for cinematic events.

Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is storming ahead with the lion’s share of those takings.

The film is estimated to amass more than $300m (£233m) internationally, which means it will have the most successful opening of an original non-superhero film ever.

Even with superhero films factored in, it’s a huge coup for Warner Bros. If Barbie amasses its projected amount, the only film ahead of it in the opening weekend history books will be 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

While Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s three-hour epic about the man who designed the atomic bomb, is settling for second, it’s a surefire hit in its own right.

The biographical drama has achieved a better opening weekend than most franchise films, outperforming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in its opening weekend last month. Its current takings are projected to sit at approximately $180m (£140m).

In fact, Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan’s third-biggest opening to date, behind The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. It’s also one of his best-reviewed films yet, sitting in joint first place on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes alongside the former, which was released in 2008. They both have ratings of 94 per cent.

It’s also worth noting that Nolan’s films have staying power at the box office, with Interstellar and Dunkirk both quadrupling what they made in their openings weekends.

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Both films, which many have been double billing, have exceeded expectations, with both films on track to become two of the biggest hits of the year. Barbie will most likely steal the crown as 2023’s biggest hit from animated film The Super Mario Bros Movie.

FindThe Independent’s review of Barbie here.