by Abb Jones
The Reelness

Barbie and Oppenheimer have proven that it is possible for two very different movies to both have stellar openings in their weekend debuts, proving that old adage, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Barbenheimer is real, folks.

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as wannabe boyfriend Ken, brought in a staggering $162 million in North America over its opening weekend – making it the biggest three-day debut of 2023 and allowing Greta Gerwig to surpass Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins as the female film director with the largest ever opening weekend. Barbie pulled in another $182 million internationally. With glowing reviews (click here for ours) and a very extensive marketing campaign, don’t expect the pink-infused fantasy comedy to fade anytime soon.

But don’t think Oppenheimer is any slouch. Director Christopher Nolan’s three-hour opus starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, had an impressive $82 million North American opening weekend haul, making Oppenheimer among the biggest opening weekends ever for an R-rated film. Internationally, it pulled in another $98 million and has opened to equally strong reviews (click here for ours). IMAX CEO RIch Gelfond says they have experienced viewers crossing international borders to see the film in IMAX 70mm.