Summary

• "Barbie and Oppenheimer are both champions, breaking records and opening big at the box office. The two movies helped each other become successful instead of stealing the other's audiences."
• "Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan's best opening for a non-Batman movie. It made more than Batman Begins in its opening weekend despite being three hours long."
• "Barbie is already Mattel's highest-grossing movie ever and Warner Bros.' biggest opening weekend in 7 years. It sured the previous record holder, Captain Marvel, for the biggest opening weekend for a woman director."

Oppenheimer's July 21 release date fueled heated debates online about which would win the box office, and while one movie out-grossed the other, they're both champions given all the records they collectively achieved. The two movies couldn't be any more different, as one is a comedy about a toy doll and has a color pallet that's 50 shades of pink, and the other is a bleak biopic about the inventor of the atomic bomb. Both come from visionary directors, too. Oppenheimer is by Christopher Nolan, who makes movies on an epic scale and pushes the boundaries of cinema, and Barbie is directed by profound filmmaker Greta Gerwig.

Despite the debates about which would do better during their opening weekend, viewers embraced the phenomena of "Barbenheimer," and many went to see both movies on the same day. In a plot twist as great as any of Nolan's, the two movies seemingly helped each other become more successful instead of stealing the other's audiences. Not only was it perfect counterprogramming, but viewers who wouldn't ordinarily watch Barbie embraced the film, and vice versa. As a result, "Barbenheimer" is being hailed as the weekend that saved cinema, with Barbie and Oppenheimer both opening big at the box office, and it's led to a number of records being set and/or broken.

17 Oppenheimer Is Christopher Nolan's Best Opening For A Non-Batman Movie

Oppenheimer had one of Christopher Nolan's biggest box office openings. The biopic had an opening domestic gross of $80.5 million and a debut worldwide gross of $174.2 million, and both numbers are higher than the respective grosses of Nolan's other films outside his Batman movies. Even then, Oppenheimer made more than Batman Begins did in its opening weekend, which is even more impressive given that Oppenheimer is three hours long.

16 Barbie Has The Best Opening Weekend Of 2023

Barbie is rated PG-13, which is surprising for a movie based on children's toys. However, despite this, the movie still managed to make much more than The Super Mario Bros. Movie did in its opening weekend. Barbie grossed $155 million domestically and $182 internationally, and both of these figures beat the animated video game movie and knocked it off the top spot of 2023.

15 Barbie Is Already Mattel's Highest-Grossing Movie Ever

Even though it is just the movie's first weekend, Barbie has already become Mattel's highest-grossing movie of all time. Granted, there might not have been much competition when it comes to movies based on the brand's toys, yet it's still a huge feat considering how quickly the record was achieved. The toy manufacturer will undoubtedly now greenlight a lot more movies based on its products.

14 Barbie Is Warner Bros.' Biggest Opening Weekend In 7 Years

Warner Bros. hasn't seen this much success in an opening weekend with any of their movies in seven years. The last Warner Bros. movie to gross more than Barbie in its opening weekend was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even then, the 2016 release was a huge event movie, and when it quickly earned a mixed reception, the film suffered a huge dip in its second weekend. Given the positive reception of Barbie, the 2023 film will undoubtedly outperform the superhero movie.

13 Barbenheimer Is The Fourth-Best Opening Weekend In History

Together, Barbie and Oppenheimer had a total domestic opening weekend gross of $235 million at the box office. That's the fourth-highest domestic opening weekend ever. "Barbenheimer" weekend sits behind the opening weekends of Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It might have required two films, but the fact that two films grossed a combined $235 million domestically on the same weekend is arguably even more impressive.

12 Barbie Is The Biggest Opening Weekend Ever For A Woman Director

Greta Gerwig has made history with Barbie, as the movie has become the biggest opening weekend for a woman director, and that likely won't be beaten any time soon. The previous record holder was Anna Boden, who co-directed Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck. The superhero movie grossed $153.4 million domestically in its opening weekend, and Barbie only just barely beat it.

11 Oppenheimer Is The Second-Biggest Opening Of All Time For A Biopic

Oppenheimer had the second-biggest opening for a biopic, sitting behind American Sniper, which grossed $89.2 million worldwide in its debut. However, Oppenheimer could still potentially have a much better box office performance overall, as there's a lot more interest in Oppenheimer internationally than there was with American Sniper.

10 Barbie Is Greta Gerwig's Biggest Movie Ever

It wasn't remotely hard for Barbie to sur the previous Great Gerwig movies at the box office, but it's still an impressive feat. Gerwig directed Lady Bird, which took in a total of $79 million worldwide, and Little Women, which grossed $218 million worldwide during its entire run. Barbie has grossed more than both of those two movies combined, and the movie did so within its opening weekend alone.

9 Barbie Is Margot Robbie's Biggest Opening Weekend Ever

Margot Robbie is a huge movie star who has led a ton of blockbuster movies, including Suicide Squad and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. However, Barbie easily delivered the biggest opening weekend the actor has ever had, beating Suicide Squad's $133.7 million. The actor needed this, as Barbie follows Margot Robbie's two 2023 box office bombs, Babylon and Amsterdam.

8 Barbie Is Ryan Gosling's Biggest Opening Weekend Ever

Not only did Barbie give Margot Robbie her biggest opening weekend ever, but it's Ryan Gosling's, too. Gosling's Ken is a scene-stealer in Barbie, and the box office performance is just as much of a win for him as it is for Robbie. While Gosling is an A-list star, he has surprisingly never had a huge box office hit, as his previous biggest opening weekend was $32.8 million for Blade Runner 2049.