“Do you guys ever think about dying?”
Analysts don’t agree on what Barbie will make when it lands in theaters this weekend, but they all think it’s gonna be pretty big. According to Variety, the estimates range from Warner Bros. claiming $75 million to exhibitors claiming $140 million, and a common sense average of around $100 million.
So far, this summer has been a season of missteps. Elemental, The Flash, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny all underperformed, calling into question the bankability of blockbusters going forward. Greta Gerwig’s tongue-in-cheek adaptation of a famous plastic doll seeks to reset the narrative alongside it’s natural enemy/lover Oppenheimer, which analysts expect to see earn $50 million on far fewer screens.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One already earned a quarter of a billion international gross last weekend, so the prospect of another big Friday-to-Sunday run (you just pictured Tom Cruise running) combined with Barbie and Oppenheimer might make this the biggest box office weekend of the summer.
Sadly, AMC Theaters have reported that only about 40,000 people have bought double feature tickets for Barbie and Oppenheimer, a number that should be well into the millions. There’s only one shot at seeing them both in one go.
Until they’re both available to watch on a flight, and Christopher Nolan will slap you in the face if you do it that way. Probably Gerwig, too. Get it together, people.
(via Variety)