Blue Beetle ends Barbie’s reign at the US box office
Yet it is one of the worst starts of a DC super-production… (Source: Le Film Français)
After four weeks at the top of the American box office, Barbie falls into second position following the arrival in theaters of Blue Beetle. The superhero film earned $25.4 million in 3,871 theaters, which allows it to start just at the top, ahead of the 21.5 million for Greta Gerwig’s comedy earned in 4,003 theaters.
Barbie doubles The Dark Knight Rises and becomes the biggest hit of Warner Bros.
However, it is the second worst start of a Warner Bros production from DC comics behind that of Wonder Woman 1984released in the midst of Covid in December 2020. It had collected 16.7 million greenbacks, then less than 50 million in the United States. The Suicide Squad (released August 2021, both in theaters and streaming) and Shazam! Wrath of the godsstarted at 26 and 30 million before gaining 55 and 57 in domestic.
Released in several other countries around the world, Blue Beetle won an additional 18 million there, or 43.4 in all. The film cost Warner about $100 million, not including its promotion (not a big deal, though), so it will be hard to repay. It is about an unknown superhero of comics, whose cinematographic adventure comes out in the cinema after several disappointments: Black Adam, Shazam 2 And The Flash have all gone less well than expected in recent months.
Barbie And Oppenheimer complete the podium. With $1.279 billion in revenue, including $567 million in the United States alone, the comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling recently became the biggest hit in Warner Bros. history. By doubling The Dark Knight and its sequel, by Christopher Nolan. Who does however very well with his historical film.
Oppenheimer obtained a strange record a few days ago: it is the biggest hit in American cinema to never top the chartssince since their release in competition, it has always remained a notch below Barbie. With 717 million dollars collected on the planet, it doubled this weekend Interstellar from the same director.
The only novelty of the rest of the top is Backstreet Dogs, a comedy for adults with dogs, which are dubbed in particular by Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx. Offered on 3,222 screens, it won $8.3 million, thus debuting in fifth position.
US box office weekend August 18-20, 2023:
