Barbie has outperformed Oppenheimer at the box office in Thursday night previews.
For months, there has been word of a phenomenon named Barbenheimer. This is because two vastly different movies—Barbie, a vibrant fantasy comedy movie from Greta Gerwig, and Oppenheimer, a dark historical thriller from Christopher Nolan—are both releasing on the same day: July 21, 2023. Audiences have wondered which movie will do better with audiences, with many vowing to see both on the same day.
Now that the numbers are in for the film’s Thursday night previews, Barbie has outperformed Oppenheimer by a lot. Barbie earned $22.3 million in previews, a record-high for 2023. This outperforms the previews for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which both earned a little over $17 million on their opening Thursday nights.
In comparison, Oppenheimer made $10.5 million on Thursday night. Although this number does not match Barbie’s, it is a very impressive opening on its own, outperforming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
Both movies are expected to earn big at the box office. Oppenheimer is tracking for a $49 million opening weekend, while Barbie is looking at a whopping $110 million at the opening weekend domestic box office.
Should I watch Oppenheimer or Barbie first?
Although there is no right way to watch these movies, it may be a better idea to watch Oppenheimer first and then Barbie. Oppenheimer is a dour, depressing movie about a real-life event, while Barbie offers the perfect amount of joy to cheer you up.
Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, Dua Lipa, and more.
Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Dane DeHaan, Alden Ehrenreich, Matthew Modine, Jack Quaid, David Dastmalachian, Jason Clarke, Josh Peck, Devon Bostick, Gary Oldman, and Casey Affleck.
