Oppenheimer Breaks Global Box Office Record In Opening Weekend

The weekend of “Barbenheimer” is coming to an end, and the two films made this the most successful weekend at the box office since the pandemic began. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer are a hit with critics and audiences alike, with the Christopher Nolan film up on Rotten Tomatoes with a 94% critics score and 94% audience score. In fact, Oppenheimer broke an interesting global box office record this weekend. The film grossed $174 million globally, making it the highest for a non-Batman film directed by Nolan. The movie also had the biggest opening ever for a biopic, beating out Bohemian Rhapsody’s $124 million opening in 2018.

While Oppenheimer opened incredibly strong, it looks like Barbie is winning the weekend. In fact, Barbie is set to have the biggest opening weekend of any film in 2023 so far, earning $155 million from theaters in North America and $337 million overall. Oppenheimer still exceeded expectations, earning an impressive $80 million stateside and $174 million in total.

Barbie also set a new record for director Greta Gerwig by becoming the biggest opening of a film directed by a woman. Barbie surpassed the $153 million earned by Captain Marvel in 2019, which was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Previously, the record for a film directed solely by a woman was Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, which opened to $103 million in 2017.  

Who Stars in Oppenheimer?

Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer, Matt Damon as Leslie Groves, Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock, Benny Safdie as Edward Teller, Michael Angarano as Robert Serber, Josh Hartnett as Ernest Lawrence, Dylan Arnold as Frank Oppenheimer, David Krumholtz as Isidor Isaac Rabi, Matthew Modine as Vannevar Bush, Josh Peck as Kenneth Bainbridge, Devon Bostick as Seth Neddermeyer, Matthias Schweighöfer as Werner Heisenberg, Christopher Denham as Klaus Fuchs, Guy Burnet as George Eltenton, Danny Deferrari as Enrico Fermi, Emma Dumont as Jackie Oppenheimer, Gustaf Skarsgård as Hans Bethe, Trond Fausa Aurvåg as George Kistiakowsky, and Gary Oldman as Harry S. Truman.

Downey Jr. recently made an appearance at Oppenheimer‘s U.K. premiere, and he revealed that it’s the best movie he’s ever been in. Considering the actor has a filmography that’s pushing 90 projects, that’s a bold statement. “This is the best film I have ever been in, and I cannot wait for you all to experience it,” Downey Jr. proclaimed at the Oppenheimer premiere. 

Did you see Barbie and Oppenheimer in theaters this weekend? Which did you watch first? Did you do a double feature or spread them out? Tell us in the comments!