The August box office is shaping up to be a significant improvement over last year’s woeful numbers, as the power of “Barbenheimer” is combining with some solid results from new releases to push overall totals for the month’s first weekend 89% higher than 2022.
Warner Bros.’ “Barbie,” of course, leads the way with a third weekend total of $53 million, dropping just 43% from last weekend. With a domestic running total of $459 million, the Greta Gerwig film is 5% ahead of the pace of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and should become the top grossing film of 2023 in North America, if not worldwide. as it has crossed $1 billion after 17 days in release.
A trio of films are in a narrow race for the No. 2 spot, with another Warner film, “Meg 2: The Trench,” getting the edge with a $30 million opening weekend from 3,503 theaters.
The sequel to the 2018 Jason Statham monster movie is down from the $45 million opening of its predecessor, though like that film its $139 million production budget is co-financed by China Media Capital, lowering the break-even point. The film earned a B- from audiences on CinemaScore, compared to a B+ for the first “Meg.”
Universal’s “Oppenheimer” is in a narrow tie for third with Paramount newcomer “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” with “Oppenheimer” getting the edge with $28.7 million.
“Oppenheimer” now has a domestic total of $228.5 million, becoming only the fourth biopic to cross the $200 million domestic mark. The film has also passed $550 million worldwide and in doing so has passed the unadjusted $530 million global total of director Christopher Nolan’s 2017 film “Dunkirk.”
“TMNT: Mutant Mayhem” has earned $28 million over the weekend; but when its grosses from its mid-week launch are included, the animated film has turned in a 5-day opening of $43 million. Prior to release, projections had “Mutant Mayhem” earning $40 million for its extended opening.
With a reported $70 million budget, “Mutant Mayhem” is on its way to a strong theatrical run, with family audiences embracing the film with an A on CinemaScore to go with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96% critics and 93% audience. As recent films like “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” and “Elemental” have shown, animated films that get strong word of mouth have legged out for weeks, so “Mutant Mayhem” should do the same.
Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” completes the top 5, but plummeted 63% from its already soft $24 million opening to $9 million in its second weekend. After two weekends, the film has grossed just $42 million domestic and $59 million worldwide.
Outside the top 5, A24’s “Talk to Me” added $6.2 million in its second weekend, continuing a solid run as an indie horror alternative. With a $22.1 million 10-day total, it is A24’s highest grossing film so far this year.
