DC superhero film “Blue Beetle” led weekend ticket sales by grossing $25.4 million in opening screenings, according to studio estimates Sunday (20/8). The film knocked “Barbie” out of the top spot after holding records and making theaters pink for the past month.
The “Barbie” phenomenon isn’t over yet. The film made by Greta Gerwig, which earlier this week became the highest-grossing film by Warner Bros. which had never been released in the United States, barely stayed atop the box office with $21.5 million in its fifth weekend. “Barbie” has now earned $567.3 million in North America and $1.28 billion globally.
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” grossed $10.6 million in its fifth week. With a total domestic gross of $285.2 million, “Oppenheimer” is now the biggest box office hit without ever hitting number one at the weekend box office. The previous record holder for that unusual statistic was the 2016 film “Sing,” which grossed $270.3 million under the shadow of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Hidden Figures.”
Earnings from Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer” were better overseas. Its global gross totaled approximately $717.8 million as of Sunday (20/8).
Earnings for “Blue Beetle,” starring Xolo Maridueña, fell short of expectations and marked one of the lower debuts for a DC Comics film. Although originally planned for a streaming-only release, Warner Bros. opting to include “Blue Beetle,” the first DC film starring a South American superhero, hitting theaters in late summer, a period that is usually quiet at the box office.
“Blue Beetle” cost $105 million to produce, which is lower than the average superhero movie. (ka/lt)
