Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” are continuing to put up spectacular numbers in their second weekend and squash the competition, including Disney newcomer “Haunted Mansion,” as they combine for $140 million in their second weekend.
After opening to $162 million last weekend, “Barbie” is still drawing in hordes of pink-clad fans with an estimated $95 million second weekend, dropping just 41% from its opening weekend.
With an incredible estimated $353 million total after two weekends, “Barbie” is matching the domestic pace of the year’s top grossing film, Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and is laying down a challenge to pass the Nintendo film’s $574 million domestic and $1.34 billion overall total.
If “Barbie” does pass “Mario,” it will not only become the year’s highest grossing film but will also become Warner Bros.’ highest grossing film of all time before inflation adjustment, passing “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.” As it stands, “Barbie” is already a lock to reach $1 billion worldwide, becoming the sixth Warner Bros. film to do so.
“Oppenheimer” is showing just as strong legs with an estimated $46 million in its second weekend, dropping just 44% from its $82.4 million opening. That would give the film a domestic total of $173.8 million, putting it among the top 10 highest grossing films of 2023 so far and on pace to pass the domestic totals of films like “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
In third is Disney’s “Haunted Mansion,” which is DOA with an opening day of just $9.8 million from 3,740 theaters and an industry estimated opening weekend of just $24.5 million, falling below the $$29.6 million opening of Pixar’s “Elemental.”
While “Elemental” has legged out to a respectable — if not theatrically profitable — $145 million domestic total, the same will likely not be the case for “Haunted Mansion” as it has earned only a so-so B+ from audiences on CinemaScore to go with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 42% critics and 84% audience.
The anemic result for “Haunted Mansion” is a warning for the fate that might befall several August releases as the “Barbenheimer” craze shows signs of lasting for weeks to come.
Some films like Sony’s “Gran Turismo” may be able to work around that as the racing film has adjusted its release strategy to have two weekends of sneak preview screenings before going wide on Aug. 25, allowing the film to get some distance from “Barbenheimer” while also allowing the film to build word of mouth at a time when striking actors are withdrawing from promotional events.
