New York (CNN) � On the same day “Barbie� passed its , the other half of the viral “Barbenheimer� phenomenon blew past the half-billion-dollar mark.
Since its release three weeks ago, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer� has made $552.9 million worldwide, according to official estimates from Universal Pictures.
It is now the highest grossing R-rated movie of 2023, and “marks the fastest a Universal R-rated film has hit the $200 million threshold domestically,� the studio said in a news release Sunday. It’s also the highest grossing movie set during World War II, according to Universal.
In its third weekend, “Oppenheimer� has had incredible stamina as the No. 3 movie in both domestic and international box offices.
Nolan’s blockbuster has had “an astounding theatrical run made all the more impressive by the R-rating, running time and which, in the hands of a lesser filmmaker and absent a spectacular marketing and release strategy, would have likely wound up as a mere footnote when referencing the performance of historical dramas at the box office,� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The box office numbers are impressive for a three-hour biography about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the . The movie is one of only four biopics to earn more than half a billion dollars globally, alongside “Bohemian Rhapsody,� “Passion of the Christ,� and “American Sniper.�
“‘Oppenheimer’� (has) become one of the most revered, talked about and successful summer movies ever to be released by a major studio,� said Dergarabedian, adding the movie “demonstrates the power of great filmmaking and of course a bit of unforeseeable ‘Barbenheimer� magic.�
“Oppenheimer� and “Barbie� had a in the lead-up to their shared debut on July 21, perhaps helped by their very different styles and tones.
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