The Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starrer earned an estimated $93 million in North American theatres this weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
With 'Barbie' opening on a double-whammy weekend with Universal's 'Oppenheimer' created by Christopher Nolan about the life of the father of the nuclear bomb, sparking the mashup name of 'Barbenheimer', they rounded out a summer bonanza weekend that grossed nearly $150 million. Oppenheimer raked in $46.2 million for its second weekend.
"July would have been a lukewarm month, but then 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' arrived, moviegoing exploded, and within one week, July caught up to its pre-pandemic average," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
"Barbie" had scored one of the biggest opening weekends of the year, with an eye-watering box office of $80.5 million.
The Greta Gerwig directorial has now generated $351.4 million in North American ticket sales, along with $423 million abroad. It is widely expected to rake in over a billion dollars before it gets taken down from domestic and global cinemas.
"Oppenheimer" also showed exceptional resilience for a historical drama, posting good numbers for a second successive weekend.
The movie, which tracks the creation of America's atomic bomb, has now pulled in some $174.1 million domestically and $226 million abroad.
The third slot for movie box office hauls had a new contender this weekend, with Disney's latest release, "Haunted Mansion," coming in at $24.2 million. Disney spent $150 million to produce the film, which is primarily aimed at kids. It still has a long climb uphill before it can break even, forget profitability, according to Variety.
The independent "Sound of Freedom," produced by Santa Fe Films and Angel Studios, came in at the fourth spot, raking in $12.4 million. The low-budget action thriller has sparked controversy, with critics saying its story about child sex trafficking plays into Qanon conspiracy theories.
Steady at fifth was Paramount's "Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One."
This first part of a multi-part finale to one of Tom Cruise's longest-running franchises took in $10.7 million, meaning all of the top five films scored in the double-digit millions.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Talk to Me" ($10 million)
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" ($4 million)
"Elemental" ($3.4 million)
"Insidious: The Red Door" ($3.2 million)
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" ($1.4 million)