'Oppenheimer' Strikes US Box Office... Unusual Dual Success

The so-called 'Babenheimer' craze is sweeping through American theaters. The Hollywood films 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer,' which were released simultaneously last weekend, have achieved an unprecedented joint box office success.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to Bloomberg and CNN on the 23rd (local time), Greta Gerwig's film Barbie earned $155 million in the North American region over the weekend following its release on the 21st, making it the biggest opening weekend release of the year. This figure surpasses the record set by 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' in April, which earned $146.4 million.

Barbie alone earned $70.5 million in North America on its opening day, the 21st. This is the highest figure ever for a female director's debut film. Based on opening day results, Patty Jenkins' 'Wonder Woman' earned $38 million, and Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's co-directed 'Captain Marvel' earned about $62 million.

On the same day, Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer, released alongside Barbie, earned $33 million on its first day and $80.5 million over the weekend. Although it did not match Barbie's numbers, considering that Oppenheimer is rated R with a limited audience, it is regarded as an above-expectation performance. Compared to Nolan's previous works, it set the highest opening record, surpassing 'Dunkirk' and 'Inception' by 50 to 60% respectively.

Bloomberg reported, "More than 200,000 viewers flocked to see the two films known as Babenheimer," adding that it revitalized theater audiences since the release of 'Avengers: Endgame' in April 2019. CNN noted that the so-called Babenheimer is causing a sensation in popular culture and is seen as an opportunity to uplift the struggling film industry atmosphere.

Barbie, a film adaptation of Mattel's iconic doll series, and Oppenheimer, a biographical film about the American atomic bomb developer, are fundamentally different in nature. However, ahead of their simultaneous release, a 'meme' combining the two films became popular online, spreading the Babenheimer craze. The meme video, which splices the trailers of both films, includes a scene where Robert Oppenheimer says, "The world will remember this day," immediately followed by the Barbie cast dancing in pink outfits.

Box office expert Paul Dergarabedian told CNN that he could not think of any similarities between the two films that would create synergy, calling the Babenheimer craze unprecedented. Jackie Brenman, legal counsel for the National Association of Theatre Owners, also said, "Babenheimer is an unprecedented phenomenon." The industry expects that the joint success of Babenheimer will lead to the highest weekly box office revenue of the year. Since the tally is not yet complete, the final figures released the following day are expected to be even higher. Both films had previously earned $22.3 million and $10.5 million respectively at their advance screenings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.