'Gran Turismo' revs up, while 'Barbie' becomes year's top film
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Entertainment
If you think the movie box office has become all about toys and games, you're not alone.
Gran Turismo (NYSE:SONY), a movie based on the PlayStation videogame, opens this weekend in what would ordinarily be pole position to lead grosses. But it has to contend with an even more popular toy sensation: Barbie (NASDAQ:WBD) has the potential to reclaim the top spot that it narrowly lost a week ago to Blue Beetle (WBD).
To carry that theme one step further, Barbie (WBD) has just become the year's top domestic grosser: Its cumulative total of $577.7M has displaced April's Super Mario Bros. Movie (NASDAQ:CMCSA), itself based on an iconic videogame, which grossed $574.3M.
Gran Turismo (SONY) is riding some strong critical response and made $1.4M in Thursday previews, pointing to an opening of $10M-plus. That's certainly no guarantee it won't be surpassed by Blue Beetle (WBD), which should see a superhero-sized drop-off from last week's $25M but might surprise -- or by Barbie, which grossed $21M last weekend but has exhibited very strong business retention in its year's-best run.
Barbie is the highest-grossing film of the year at home, but it should soon become the global top grosser as well: With $1.291B worldwide, it's closing in on The Super Mario Bros. Movie's $1.359B.
Its success is also helping distributor Warner Bros. (WBD) -- 2023's third-highest-grossing U.S. distributor -- put some distance between itself and No. 4 Sony (SONY). With a total of $953M in grosses for 2023, Warner Bros. is ahead of Sony's $707.8M and behind Disney's (DIS) $1.272B.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).

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