'Barbenheimer' racking up hundred-millions heading into second weekend
Jesse Grant/Getty Images Entertainment
"Barbenheimer" is only now heading into a second weekend in movie theaters, but the two-headed beast's record-smashing goes on all week long.
After opening last weekend with $162M, Barbie (NASDAQ:WBD) consistently drew weekday moviegoers -- and after another $21M on Thursday, has hit $258M in domestic grosses with its sophomore weekend just beginning. That makes it the fifth-biggest 2023 release already, and it's also cruised past a half-billion dollars on a worldwide basis.
There's no sign of a slowdown as the already ubiquitous movie based on the Mattel (MAT) doll adds another rack of theaters, to hit a total of 4,337 venues.
Its double-feature buddy Oppenheimer (NASDAQ:CMCSA) opened at $82.5M last weekend, and similarly hasn't slowed down on weekdays, reaching $117.9M domestically and adding another $112M internationally, for a global gross of $230M.

The two films will still be the story of the weekend, even as Disney (NYSE:DIS) is set to give another go to a film based on a theme-park ride. Haunted Mansion (DIS) drew $3.1M in Thursday previews and, as a third-place alternative to Barbenheimer, could hit the $25M range or even $30M.
Disney in 2003 released an earlier film, The Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy, that opened to just over $24M and ultimately grossed $75.8M at home and $182.3M worldwide.
And it's not alone in trying to spook moviegoers this weekend, as A24 releases more grown-up horror thriller Talk to Me, which should be happy with single-digit millions. Still to be seen is how last week's third-place entry, surprising hit Sound of Freedom (Angel Studios), fares in the mix after showing solid word-of-mouth business.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).

More on the 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon

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'Barbenheimer' spurs fourth-biggest box-office weekend ever
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