411 Box Office Report: Barbie Crosses $1 Billion, Tops Meg 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Barbie can’t be stopped, as she proved by crossing the $1 billion worldwide mark at the box office this weekend. The Warner Bros. film led the box office for the third straight weekend with $53 million, continuing its fantastic legs as it was down just 43% from the previous weekend. That’s a great result for the comedy, which now has $459.4 million domestically and inched past the $1 billion worldwide mark in just three weekends.

Any expectations that most people had have been completely shattered by the Greta Gerwig film’s performance. Barbie is the fastest of the two domestic films to cross the $1 billion worldwide mark this year; The Super Mario Bros. Movie accomplished that mark in made it weekend four. Barbie is now on a trend to top that film for the top performer of 2023 to date and could conceivably make it to $600 million domestically, which would make it the 14th film ever to accomplish that task. The film’s budget was around the $128 million mark so needless to say, this is a box office bonanza for Warner Bros., a studio that needed it for 2023.

There were a trio of films fighting it out for #2 this weekend, and The Meg 2: The Trench won out. The Jason Statham-led sequel to the 2018 shark action flick grossed $30 million for the runner-up spot, better than the low-to-mid $20 million range that most were predicting.

The Meg 2 opened in the same rough timeframe that the first film did, and the opening weekend was down significantly from The Meg’s $45.4 million start. However, I don’t need to remind anyone that 2018 was a different time at the box office. Even aside from the post-2020 of it all, sequel-itis was always going to be a thing here as the first one was a surprise hit anyway.

Little about The Meg 2’s trajectory is a surprise. Critics hated it more than they did the first film, with the sequel hitting a 28% aggregated critic score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the first’s 46%. However, audiences are liking the sequel more at a (still not great) 73% RT audience score, compared to the first’s 43%. Considering the behemoths that the film is up against, this was a pretty solid performance all in all.

The Meg 2 had a lower price tag than the first film’s $170 million, though it’s still somewhat high at $129 million (plus marketing). As with the first film though, this is a movie that will make its money overseas. The film nailed down $112 million internationally for a $142 million worldwide start. It should ultimately turn out to be profitable for Warner Bros., even if it’s not necessarily a smash hit.

Oppenheimer was down a spot to #3 with $28.7 million, marking another great hold. The Christopher Nolan film slipped just 39% from the previous weekend, bringing its totals to $228.5 million domestically and $552.9 million worldwide. That makes it Nolan’s best domestic grosser since 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises and his best worldwide grosser since 2014’s Interstellar. At this point, the film is looking to finish in the vicinity of $270 million and is a big hit against a $100 million budget.

Coming in at #4 was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The latest animated take on the popular franchise totalled up $28 million over the three-day weekend. That brings its domestic total to $43 million since opening on Wednesday, which is more or less where it was expected to land. It’s a solid start for this $70 million film that should play well throughout August on the back of critical acclaim (a 96% RT critic score) and great word of mouth (a 96% audience score and A CinemaScore).

The TMNT franchise has had its share of ups and downs over the years, to say the least. Michael Bay’s 2014 live-action reboot did well and helped open up perception of August as a viable month that year alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, but the 2016 sequel was a big disappointment. Similarly, the original live action film made big money ($202 million worldwide against a $13.5 million budget), but the franchise saw diminishing returns with the two sequels. And the other animated entry, 2007’s TMNT, also failed to spark a fire with $96.1 million worldwide.

Long story short, the franchise has always managed to make money but has only struck gold a couple of times. It’s not yet clear if Mutant Mayhem will join those ranks or be a solid but middling performer like the others. Thus far it has only grossed $8.5 million overseas for a $51.4 million worldwide start, but it has only opened in some markets there and more will open throughout August. Domestically it should be able to make it to at least $85 million to $90 million. If the international grosses pick up in expansion, it will be in fine shape.

There’s no such thing as fine shape for Haunted Mansion, which followed up its disappointing opening weekend with a nosedive. Disney’s supernatural comedy dropped 63% to $9 million, not the result Disney was hoping for on this $150 million film that started with a measly $24.1 million. The film now has $42 million domestically and just $59.6 million worldwide, making this a certified bomb at this point. It seems unlikely that the domestic total will get much past 70 million, and it may not even hit that range if it continues to fall hard.

Sound of Freedom was off 45% in its fifth weekend with $7 million. The Angel Studios film is now up to $163.5 million, fantastic numbers against a $14.5 million budget. It is staying on course for a likely $180 million domestic total and perhaps higher.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 slipped 39% in its fourth weekend to $6.5 million. The film now has $151 million domestically and $493.8 million worldwide, good numbers until you consider the $290 million budget. It is going to struggle to try to make a profit at this point and should end its stateside run at around $170 million.

A24’s horror film Talk To Me had a very good hold for the genre, down 40% to $6.3 million. Considering the film heavily overperformed last weekend, that’s a great number. The flick now stands at $22.1 million domestically and $23.7 million worldwide against a $4.5 million budget, and is easily profitable. The film is looking likely at this point to gross in the $35 million range domestically, a more than fine result.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was down 62% in its sixth weekend to $1.5 million. The adventure blockbuster now has $170.6 million domestically and $368.4 million worldwide against a hefty $300 million budget, making it a box office failure. It is likely to close out around $175 million for its final domestic gross.

Elemental finally had a heavy drop after weeks of great holds, down 63% in its eighth weekend to $1.2 million. The Pixar film is much closer to breaking even than anyone expected when it opened weakly in June, with $148.3 million domestically and $423.7 million worldwide against a $200 million budget plus marketing. Its final domestic gross will be around $153 million.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but Barbie will rule again next weekend as the only wide release is The Last Voyage of the Demeter. The Dracula film is looking to bring in around $8 million to $10 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Barbie – $53 million ($459.3 million total, $1.0 billion WW)
2. Meg 2: The Trench – $30 million ($30 million total, $142 million WW)
3. Oppenheimer – $28.7 million ($228.5 million total, $552.9 million WW)
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – $28 million ($43 million total, $51.5 million WW)
5. Haunted Mansion – $9 million ($42 million total, $59.6 million WW)
6. Sound Of Freedom – $7 million ($164.5 million domestically, $164.5 million WW)
7. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 – $6.5 million ($151 million total, $493.8 million WW)
8. Talk To Me – $6.3 million ($22.1 million total, $23.7 million WW)
9. Indiana Jones and the Dial Of Destiny – $1.5 million ($170.6 million total, $368.4 million WW)
10. Elemental – $1.2 million ($148.3 million total, $423.7 million WW)