 "Barbenheimer")
The films Barbie and Oppenheimer attracted cinemagoers in record numbers for their opening weekend, grossing a combined $235.5 million after a difficult start to the summer for Hollywood.
Warner Bros' Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, earned $155 million in ticket sales, surpassing The Super Mario Bros Movie as the biggest opening of 2023.
Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan and based on the life of J Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, grossed $80.5 million, exceeding expectations in one of the best debuts for a biographical drama.
A crowning achievement
"Barbenheimer", the social media-fuelled portmanteau that describes the same-day release of the films, is expected to gross more than $300 million by the end of the weekend, making it the fourth-largest box office opening of all time.
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The simultaneous release of two of the year's most anticipated blockbusters prompted hundreds of thousands of moviegoers to see both films on the same day, resulting in an unlikely double feature.
Both films have received positive reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving them 90 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively.
"The Barbenheimer thing was a real boost for both movies," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros president of domestic distribution.
"It is a crowning achievement for all of us," he added.
Truly historic weekend for cinema
Barbenheimer's stellar performance comes as Hollywood grapples with its largest strike in decades and after a lacklustre June and July that saw both The Flash and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny underperform at the box office.
The strong showing of Barbenheimer left a large gap with the rest of the box office top five.
Sound of Freedom, a controversial action thriller that critics say promotes QAnon conspiracy theories, took third place with $20.14 million.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny finished fourth and fifth, earning $19.5 million and $6.7 million, respectively.
The National Association of Theatre Owners' CEO, Michael O'Leary, called the box office frenzy a "truly historic weekend" for cinema.
"This was a phenomenal experience for people who love films on the big screen," O'Leary said.
