411 Box Office Report: Blue Beetle Dethrones Barbie With $25 Million Start

The reign of Barbie atop the box office has ended, with Blue Beetle claiming the crown this weekend. The DC film took the top spot with $25.4 million, a little below the $28 million to $30 million that it was expected to do going into the weekend. That’s the lowest start for a DCEU film not including Wonder Woman 1984, which opened amid the pandemic.

While the film notched a box office win for the DCEU, it’s not exactly an encouraging result. The film rode in with a relatively low level of awareness for DC’s films, which hurt the opening weekend despite having positive critical buzz by DC standards at a 76% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes and a pretty good audience reaction (B+ CinemaScore, 92% RT audience rating). DC failed to market the film particularly well, with no presentation at San Diego Comic-Con and the cast unable to do the usual promotional train due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

While that awareness level wasn’t great, it also must be said that DC is simply a tarnished brand right now. Look at the flops that were The Flash and Shazam: Fury of the Gods to make that clear. While Blue Beetle is generally being regarded as a better film than either of those, it was following on the damaged reputation of the franchise and was also in a weird spot of being between The Flash – promoted as the big reset of DC’s film universe – and James Gunn’s planned universe reboot.

All that lead into the underperformance for this film, with the overseas audience not being a lot of help. The film has rolled out in a smattering of markets and has just $18 million overseas for a $43.4 million worldwide start. That’s not great for a film that cost $104 million – cheaper than most of the DCEU, but still prohibitive based on the costs. One would expect that the film will hold on moderately well, but its upside is probably $90 million or so in the US and unless the overseas markets deliver a lot more, this will be another DC film that lost money.

On the plus side for Warner Bros., Barbie continues to roll on as it was down just 36% in its fifth weekend to bring in $21.5 million. The blockbuster hit is now at $567.1 million domestically and $1.23 billion worldwide. The film is just $7 million away from passing Super Mario Bros. to become the highest domestic grosser of the year, and is a sure thing to pass $600 million at this point. It is the #15 domestic grosser of all time and should be able to close out at around $615 million. It’s obviously a massive hit against a $128 million budget.

Oppenheimer was down 44% in its fifth weekend with $10.6 million. The Christopher Nolan-directed film is now at $285.2 million domestically and $717.8 million worldwide, just a short jump away from Inception’s $292.6 million domestic gross and $728.5 million worldwide total. It should gross $300 million stateside without breaking a sweat and is a big money maker against a $100 million budget.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was down 45% in its third weekend to $8.4 million. The animated film now has $88.1 million domestic and $118.4 million worldwide with several markets yet to open. The film is looking to gross around $110 million domestically and will need its international numbers to buck up so it can hit profit against a $70 million budget.

Opening at #5 was Strays, which once again proved the difficulty of opening a midbudget comedy in theaters. The canine comedy brought in $8.3 million, below the low teens that most expected it to do. It’s a painful opening for a film that reportedly cost $45 million plus marketing, especially when you consider that there is no direct competition for the R-rated laugher.

Strays is a film that simply flew in well under the radar. There was no real buzz around it, and that didn’t get boosted by the critics who gave it a mild 54% aggregated average on RT. But audiences were mixed on it too. The B+ CinemaScore isn’t bad, though the RT audience score of 74% is concerning considering how frontloaded those scores are.

A film like Strays can sometimes soar through on good legs, but that doesn’t seem likely here considering the collective shrug it seems to be getting. It brought in an additional $2 million in a small overseas start, but right now it doesn’t seem very likely to get much higher than $25 million in the US which will not be nearly enough to make back its budget plus marketing. Chalk this up as another loss for direct comedy at theaters.

The Meg 2: The Trench slipped 48% in its third weekend to $6.7 million. The shark sequel is now at $66.6 million domestically and $270.4 million worldwide, profitable against a $129 million budget. It is still looking likely to end its domestic run at around finish out around $75 million to $80 million.

Talk To Me continues to bring in profit with $3.2 million, down 37% in its fourth weekend. The A24 horror film is now at $37.4 million domestically and $42.5 million worldwide against a $4.5 million production budget, and should end its run at $40 million to $45 million in the US.

Disney’s Haunted Mansion was off 48% in its fourth weekend to gross $3 million, which brings its totals to $58.8 million stateside and $85.2 million worldwide. That’s a bomb against a $150 million budget plus marketing. The film should finish with around $65 million domestically.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 slipped 41% in its sixth weekend with $2.7 million. The film now has $164.6 million domestically and $541 million worldwide against a $290 million budget. It will be a money loser with a $170 million-plus final domestic gross.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter had a rough start last weekend, and this weekend didn’t get any better as it dropped 62% to $2.5 million. That puts the nautical Dracula film at $11 million domestically and $11.5 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. Universal is already cutting their losses on this film, which hits SVOD at the end of the month. It is a money loser and should have a final domestic gross around $15 million.

Next weekend will likely see Blue Beetle give way to a new #1 as Gran Turismo is targeting a $18 million to $20 million opening weekend as the sold wide opener of the frame.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Blue Beetle – $25.4 million ($25.4 million total, $43.4 million WW)
2. Barbie – $21.5 million ($567.1 million total, $1.23 billion WW)
3. Oppenheimer – $10.6 million ($285.2 million total, $717.8 million WW)
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – $8.4 million ($88.1 million total, $118.4 million WW)
5. Strays – $8.3 million ($8.3 million total, $10.3 million WW)
6. Meg 2: The Trench – $6.7 million ($54.1 million total, $270.4 million WW)
7. Talk To Me – $3.2 million ($37.4 million total, $42.5 million WW)
8. Haunted Mansion – $3 million ($58.8 million total, $85.2 million WW)
9. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 – $2.7 million ($164.6 million total, $541 million WW)
10. The Last Voyage of the Demeter – $2.5 million ($11 million total, $11.5 million WW)