The ‘Barbenheimer’ fever is perhaps the most culturally significant moment of the year. It saw the clash between two brilliant movies with opposing themes and plots competing at the box office. ‘Barbie‘, by Greta Gerwig and ‘Oppenheimer‘, by Christopher Nolan, were released on the same day. They went on to become two of the most successful movies of all time.
It’s been almost two months since the movies came out, and true to predictions, they have both taken the box office by storm and have been successfully breaking records. Here’s the newest record that the two movies have broken.
‘Barbenheimer’ Rises Above ‘Avatar: Way Of Water’
‘Avatar: The Way of Water‘ made $684.1 million in revenue in the United States and Canada, $1.636 billion in other countries, and $2.320 billion globally. Its $441.7 million global opening placed it third in the COVID-19 pandemic era, behind ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home‘ ($601 million) and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ ($452.4 million). It was the 11th-biggest opening of all time.
On January 22, it passed the $2 billion mark, becoming the sixth movie in history and the first in the post-pandemic era to achieve this. It also achieved the $2 billion revenue milestone for the second-fastest time, in just 40 days. Well, that was ‘Avatar’, but now Barbenheimer has shined brighter than ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water‘.
Together, ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ have collected a whopping $2.320 billion globally, outgrossing the ‘Avatar’ movie.
In Case You Missed It: ‘Oppenheimer’ Lead Cillian Murphy Confirms He Will Watch ‘Barbie’ After Christopher Nolan’s Blunt Response On Same
‘Oppenheimer’ And ‘Barbie’ Box Office Collections
‘Barbie‘ has made $623.2 million in sales in the United States and Canada and $783.5 million in other countries as of September 17, 2023, for a total of $1.407 billion worldwide.
It broke the record for any movie that wasn’t a sequel, remake, or superhero property during its opening weekend, earning praise for being a “record-breaking” box office hit. ‘Barbie’ became the highest-grossing live-action comedy film of all time. breaking the records formerly held by ‘Home Alone‘ (1990) and the global record previously held by ‘The Hangover Part II‘ (2011). On August 6, 2023, the movie passed the $1 billion mark globally, becoming the first movie by a single female director to achieve this. In addition, ‘Barbie’ outperformed ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘ (2009) in terms of the biggest opening for a movie based on a toy.
As for ‘Oppenheimer‘, by September 17, 2023, the movie had earned $912.7 million worldwide, including $318.6 million from the United States and Canada and $594.1 million from other countries. After ‘The Joker‘ (2019), it is the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. ‘Oppenheimer’ surpassed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ (2018) to become the most successful biographical movie of all time in September 2023.
With a total of $38.12 million in its sixth weekend, it overtook ‘Barbie’ at the global box office for the first time. It has surpassed ‘Dunkirk’ (2017) to become the World War II movie with the highest box office earnings.
You Might Like To Read It: Christopher Nolan Explains How ‘Oppenheimer’ Is Not A Single Movie But Three Stories Put Together
