Barbenheimer may have become the biggest meme of 2023 so far, but it feels like everyone was a winner at the box office this weekend.
Both Christopher Nolan’s monochrome biopic Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s pinkopalyptic fever dream Barbie raked in huge numbers at the global box office.
But at the end of the day, the patriarchy had to sit this one out, with Margot Robbie’s feminist take on the pop culture icon bringing in a stunning US$337mln (£263mln) in box office receipts against Cillian Murphy-starring Oppenheimer’s US$174mln (£136mln).
Though they couldn’t be more opposite in style, both films have received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
But Barbie’s smashing weekend was notable for another reason- it had the best opening weekend for a female-directed film of all time.
The previous record was only established in 2019, when Anna Boden’s superhero film Captain Marvel brought in US$153mln domestically.
Another superhero film, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, held the record since 2017 with US$103mln in domestic box office earnings.
Struggling UK cinema chains have benefitted strongly from Barbenheimer, with shares in Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE) lifted nearly 14% over the last five days as hordes of moviegoers headed to the big screens.
Vue said it experienced its busiest period in four years over the weekend, while Odeon claimed 200,000 tickets for the two films had been bought in the UK.