Summary

  • Barbie continues to dominate the box office in its second weekend, surpassing all expectations with a projected domestic gross of over $95 million.
  • This impressive feat not only makes it the best second weekend for a Warner Bros. movie, but it also grossed more than all but the top five opening weekends of 2023.
  • With its current box office success, Barbie is proving to be a force to be reckoned with.

Barbie is cementing its reputation as a box office juggernaut during its second weekend in theaters. The movie, which was directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, opened in theaters alongside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer on July 21. It turned out a spectacular opening weekend, grossing $162 million, which is the highest for any non-superhero, non-sequel, non-remake title in history.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Barbie box office is currently projected to rake in a domestic gross of $95 million or more in its second weekend. Not only is this the best second weekend ever for a Warner Bros. movie, it's a gross that is better than all but five opening weekends of 2023. Only Ant-Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Across the Spider-Verse, Super Mario Bros., and Barbie itself opened higher, with The Little Mermaid potentially tying Barbie's second weekend with its $95 million opening.

How Barbie's Second Weekend Compares To 2023's Other Biggest Hits

Barbie smiling at Ken in Barbie

It remains to be seen how much Barbie's second weekend gross will grow by Sunday night. There is precedent for its potential to climb higher than even the most optimistic projections. For instance, in its opening weekend, the movie continuously defied expectations, ballooning more and more as the days went on.

However, even if it only reaches $95 million, Barbie has cemented its status as a smash hit. That total puts it comfortably ahead of the weekend 2 totals of all four of the aforementioned titles with strong opening weekends, and more than doubles the $31.9 million weekend 2 gross of Ant-Man 3. The Super Mario Bros. box office is the only one that comes close to Barbie in weekend 2, as that movie earned $92.3 million during that same frame back in April.

So far, Super Mario Bros. is the only movie to have earned more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office in 2023. Considering the fact that they're currently neck and neck, it seems likely that Barbie will cross that milestone in due time. Whether it outgrosses Mario's $1.35 billion total remains to be seen, but so far it seems like there's nothing the iconic doll can't do.

Source: THR