“Barbenheimer” still dominates the cinema summer of 2023. Now another record has been broken.
The cinema summer of 2023 found its two mega hits in “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie”. Affectionately called “Barbenheimer” by the Internet, the contrasting blockbusters have already attracted millions of people to the cinemas and made the box office ring. Now Christopher Nolan’s World War drama has broken a new record as the most successful number two in the box office.
“Oppenheimer” is the most successful film not on the number one
Nobody would have thought that two very different films would attract the masses this summer. But the double feature “Barbenheimer” developed into a real phenomenon. Barbie has now grossed over $1 billion, making Greta Gerwig the highest-grossing director and leading actress/co-producer Margot Robbie the top earner. And Nolan can also look forward to a record.
His biographical flick about J. Robert Oppenheimer, in which Cillian Murphy plays the “father of the atomic bomb”, has now passed the US$ 600 million mark. With these earnings, “Oppenheimer” is the most successful film, which ranked second in cinemas during its run. On top of that, the flick is also the most profitable one set in the WWII era. Close behind is another work by Nolan: “Dunkirk”, with almost 530 million US dollars.
Without “Barbie” the blockbuster summer would be dominated by “Oppenheimer”. But even with the somewhat surprising hype surrounding Gerwig’s bright pink doll satire, Christopher Nolan proves once again that his films lure viewers into their cinema seats, even if they contain the odd film mistake. His three most successful films alone – “The Dark Knight Rises”, “The Dark Knight” and “Inception” – together took almost three billion US dollars at the box office.