(CNN) � It was an explosive week for “Barbenheimer,� with the atomic bomb and the atomic blond working hand in plastic hand to deliver box office dynamite. In their first week in domestic theaters, “Barbie� and “Oppenheimer� grossed more than $368 million combined.
Greta Gerwig’s dazzling doll surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars, with a stunning $258 million, according to Warner Bros., which produced the movie. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)
It stayed No. 1 throughout the week, nabbing an average of $24 million each day. On Friday, that number jumped to $29 million.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s existential biopic grossed some $128 million. It averaged $11 million per weekday, according to media analytics company Comscore, with $13.4 million on Friday.
Observers say both films are defying box office gravity, even after a
“Movies tend to drop off significantly midweek once that opening weekend interest is satisfied. But this midweek for both movies played almost like a weekend,� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The numbers spell out continued interest in the films and solidify Barbenheimer’s status as a cultural sensation.
“The strongest measure of a film’s success is the second weekend,� said Dergarabedian.
Over this weekend, analysts project about $94 million for “Barbie� and $46 million for “Oppenheimer.�
“Even if that was the opening weekend, these would still be great numbers,� he added.
“Barbie� and “Oppenheimer� are generating record-breaking second weekend presales, according to The Boxoffice Company, which powers show times and ticketing for Google, TikTok, IMDb and Apple.
Barbenheimer is also going toe to toe with , with some analysts saying this weekend is shaping up to be one of the best holdover weekends since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.�
The company has more than 150 theater partners who also reported that this week was their best in domestic sales since “Spider-Man: No Way Home� debuted December 17-23, 2021.
With “Barbenheimer,� audience excitement for each film has propped up the other. Not only was it a , according to Dergarabedian, but this pop culture moment will be studied in film, business and marketing for years to come.
The-CNN-Wire
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