A week later, the “Barbenheimer” boom broke the box office

NEW YORK (AP) — A week later, the ‘Barbenheimer’ outburst has not subsided.

Pink-inspired pop sensation “Barbie” has had a remarkably sustainable business after its top $162 million opening of the year. Ticket sales dropped just 43%.

“Barbie” also beats Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” into any Warner Bros. It was the best first two weeks of its release in theaters. It quickly amassed $351.4 million in US and Canadian cinemas, making it soon the biggest box office hit of the summer. “Barbie” earned at least $20 million each day it was played.

Universal Pictures’ “Oppenheimer” again took second place with an estimated $46.2 million. It also remained particularly strong in its second weekend, with sales falling just 44%. Nolan’s three-hour drama, in which Cillian Murphy plays atomic bomb physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, has so far grossed $174.1 million.

With an additional $72.4 million in international theaters, “Oppenheimer” has already grossed over $400 million worldwide.

The best-selling new movie of the week, Walt Disney Co.’s “Haunted Mansion,” an adaptation of the Disney theme park attraction, was easily overshadowed by the “Barbenheimer” attack. The movie, which cost approximately 150 million dollars, was released with sales of 24 million dollars in the country and 9 million dollars abroad. Directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People,” “Bad Hair”) and starring a team of LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Rosario Dawson, “Haunted Mansion” struggled to beat mediocre reviews.

The A24 supernatural horror movie “Talk to Me” was more successful. It debuted with $10 million. Directed by Australian filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou and starring Sophie Wilde, the film had a midnight premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January and received rave reviews (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). It was made for a modest $4.5 million.

While movie theaters overflowing with audiences is a huge boon to the film industry, which is still recovering from the ground lost during the pandemic, sledding became even more difficult for Tom Cruise, the supposed savior of movies, with “Top Gun: Maverick” last summer. “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I,” starring Cruise and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, grossed $10.7 million in its third weekend. The domestic total is $139.2 million.

Instead, the dormant hit “Sound of Freedom” became the best-performing non-Barbenheimer release in theaters. Counting crowdfunding pay-forward sales in its box office totals, Angel Studios’ screening earned $12.4 million in its fourth weekend and has grossed nearly $150 million to date.