'Barbenheimer' gets off to hot start with $32.8 million in combined Thursday sales

"Barbenheimer" is disconnected to a red-hot commencement astatine the home container office.

One-half of the viral net meme, "Barbie," snared $22.3 cardinal successful Thursday nighttime preview tickets, the astir of immoderate movie released truthful acold successful 2023 – topping the $17.4 cardinal bow of Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."

The R-rated, three-hour "Oppenheimer," meanwhile, tallied $10.5 cardinal from Thursday showings. That's successful enactment with large releases specified arsenic 2017's "Wonder Woman" and this year's unrecorded enactment "The Little Mermaid."

Heading into the weekend, Warner Bros.' "Barbie" is expected to seizure upwards of $140 million, if not more, implicit its archetypal 3 days successful theaters. Meanwhile, Universal's "Oppenheimer" appears destined to snare astatine slightest $50 million, with immoderate container bureau analysts expecting it could apical $60 million.

The 2 films could unneurotic make $200 cardinal implicit their opening frame. With further summons income from "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One," "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and "Sound of Freedom," it could beryllium the highest-grossing play of the twelvemonth truthful far.

This excitement is overmuch needed for the home container bureau aft a drawstring of precocious released big-budget movies, specified arsenic "The Flash" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," fell abbreviated of expectations.

Major movie chains person indicated that summons income are beardown for some films this play and further shows person been added to accommodate demand.

Some 40,000 AMC Theatre loyalty programme members person purchased tickets to spot Barbie and Oppenheimer connected the aforesaid time and the National Association of Theatre owners task that much than 200,000 moviegoers volition be same-day viewings of the 2 films.

Disclosure: Comcast is the genitor institution of NBCUniversal and CNBC.