In a record-breaking, industry-revitalizing showdown, 'Barbie' emerges victorious over 'Oppenheimer'.

"Barbenheimer" continues its box office dominance, surpassing initial estimates. Greta Gerwig's vibrant fantasy-comedy "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's intense historical drama "Oppenheimer" achieved even larger opening weekends than previously reported.

"Barbie" raked in an impressive $162 million in its first weekend of release, surpassing the earlier record-breaking estimate of $155 million on Sunday. The Warner Bros. film, featuring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, experienced only a 9% decline from Saturday, grossing $43.7 million on Sunday.

These ticket sales now stand as the biggest opening weekend of the year, surpassing "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($146 million). Furthermore, "Barbie" achieved the title of the largest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, surpassing the 2019 blockbuster "Captain Marvel" directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck ($153 million).

"This historic outcome reflects the tremendous heat, interest, and excitement surrounding 'Barbie,'" stated Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution, Jeff Goldstein, in a note to the press. "This doll is sure to have long, long legs."

"Oppenheimer," too, exceeded expectations with an impressive $82.4 million, slightly higher than the initial projection of $80.5 million on Sunday. Internationally, the biopic about the "father of the atomic bomb" added $98 million to its tally, bringing the global box office earnings to $180 million. Despite being a three-hour-long period piece with limited action and heavy dialogue, the film, led by Nolan, achieved a remarkable start. It ranks among the best openings for an R-rated film and a biographical drama.

The cultural frenzy surrounding "Barbenheimer," with double features of these seemingly distinct blockbusters released simultaneously, played a significant role in fueling the biggest collective weekend at the box office since the pandemic. Even more impressively, the box office surpassed industry expectations to achieve its fourth-biggest weekend in history, accumulating over $300 million industrywide. The top three weekends of all time were previously dominated by sequels in massive franchises, namely 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" ($402 million collectively), 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" ($314 million collectively), and 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ($313 million collectively).

Both these high-budget films, highly praised by critics, managed to exceed astronomical pre-release expectations. Analysts had anticipated a $100 million to $110 million opening for "Barbie" and a $50 million debut for "Oppenheimer." Notably, either of these results would have been significant for non-franchise films during the peak of summer.

"Barbie" also surpassed expectations at the international box office, grossing an impressive $194.3 million (above the earlier estimate of $182 million), resulting in a remarkable global total of $356.3 million. Notably, these ticket sales are even more remarkable considering that "Barbie" had a limited presence on Imax or premium large format screens, which typically have higher ticket prices compared to standard 2D screenings.

The reason behind "Barbie" being exclusively available on standard screens is that "Oppenheimer," being filmed with Imax cameras, predominantly occupied the industry's premium large format footprint. Premium large formats, which Nolan prefers for his movies, contributed a significant 47% of "Oppenheimer's" domestic box office earnings. Imax screenings alone accounted for $35 million in global ticket sales.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond remarked, "Around the world, we've witnessed sellouts even for 4 a.m. shows, and people traveling across borders for hours to experience 'Oppenheimer' in Imax 70mm."