As the actors and writers strikes continue, a bright spot has shined in Hollywood. The “Barbenheimer” double feature has scored blockbuster numbers at the box office, making it the fourth highest movie weekend of all time.
“Barbie” opened to a historic $162 million domestically which was well above the expected $90 million – $110 million. It also scored the biggest domestic start ever for a movie directed by a woman.
Director Greta Gerwig’s film towered over Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” the weekend’s other new release. But the historical drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb also came out well ahead of expectations with $80.5 million.
According to the National Association of Theater Owners, 200,000 U.S. theater-goers bought tickets to see both movies on the same day. Barbenheimer’s combined earnings contributed to this being the fourth-biggest box office weekend for all movies in U.S. history, and the largest not driven by Disney franchises like “Star Wars” or “Marvel.”
The unprecedented weekend event could be good news for Hollywood amid the actors and writers strikes which have ground production to a halt.
There has been doubt on Wall Street over whether the films will be enough to power further gains in movie theater stocks. Several entertainment stocks faced significant analyst downgrades after the Screen Actors Guild announced a walkout last week. The Writers Guild of America has been on strike since May.
The strikes mark the first time Hollywood writers and actors have been on strike at the same time in 63 years.
According to the union, the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on major topics like regulating the use of generative AI in entertainment and basic pay increases. In addition, both unions are pushing for residual payments from streaming series.
