#Box Office: ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Lead (Again), ‘Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Capsizes With $6.5M

Barbie continues to bedazzle everything in its path.

The Warner Bros. blockbuster grossed an estimated $33.7 million at the Aug. 11-13 box office in North America, the ninth-biggest fourth weekend of all time, ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home ($32.6 million) and not far behind The Avengers ($36.7 million), not adjusted for inflation.

Barbie easily stayed No. 1 as it zoomed past the $500 million mark domestically and $657 million overseas for an astounding global total of $1.18 billion, good enough to pass up Aquaman and rank as the No. 2 Warners film of all time behind the final Harry Potter pic.

Sony’s Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story was supposed to have opened domestically, but the pic’s release was delayed by two weeks because of the SAG-AFTRA strike. That meant little competition, considering that Amblin and Universal’s genre Dracula pic The Last Voyage of the Demeter got lost at sea with a dismal $6.5 million domestic opening. Gran Turismo did kick off its international rollout, grossing $10.7 million from its first 30 markets.

It was another eventful week for the female-fueled Barbie. Gerwig now ranks as the highest-grossing female director of all time domestically after skating past Frozen II, which was helmed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Gerwig is also celebrating becoming the highest-grossing female director of a live-action movie at the worldwide box office after Barbie passed up Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s superhero pic Captain Marvel, which earned $1.13 billion worldwide in 2019.

There’s more: Barbie will soon pass up The Dark Knight‘s $534 million to become the top-grossing Warners release of all time in North America after finishing Sunday with a domestic haul of $526.3 million, unadjusted.

Universal’s Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, likewise continues to impress in its fourth weekend, earning $18.8 million for a domestic cume north of $264 million. Overseas, it earned another $31.9 million for a huge worldwide total of $649 million, making it Nolan’s fifth-biggest film.

Barbie and Oppenheimer fell a scant 36 percent and 35 percent, respectively, as they continued to dominate the upper reaches of the chart. Put another way, Barbenheimer is living the dream.

Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem overtook Meg 2: The Trench to come in No. 3 in its second weekend with an estimated $15.8 million for a domestic total of $72.8 million through Sunday. The film fell only 44 percent. TMNT‘s early global total is $94.7 million.

Meg 2 slipped 58 percent to an estimated $12.7 million for a domestic cume of $54.1 million, notably behind the first film at the same point in that movie’s run. The shark sequel is doing far more business overseas, where it bit off another $43.7 million this weekend for a foreign cume of $202.8 million and a rousing $256.9 million globally.

The big downer of the weekend was The Last Voyage of Demeter from Amblin and Universal, although the film’s budget was reportedly capped at around $45 million.

Directed by André Øvredal, Last Voyage of Demeter is based on a chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula about the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to transport 50 unmarked wooden crates from Carpathia to London, but there is no trace of the crew when it arrives. Corey Hawkins stars as a doctor who joins the ship for its passage. Aisling Franciosi also stars.

TMNT, Meg 2 and the Last Voyage of Demeter underscore the perils of having to open a summer movie amid the dual strikes. WGA and SAG-AFTRA rules prohibit writers and actors from promoting any movie, TV or streaming program from a struck company.

Elsewhere in the top 10, Disney’s ill-fated Haunted Mansion fell to No. 6 in its third weekend with $5.6 million for a domestic total of $53 million and $76 million globally. (None of the movie’s stars could attend the Disneyland premiere due to the strike).

A24’s Talk to Me placed No. 6 in its third weekend with $5.1 million for a domestic cume of $31.2 million, a respectable number for a specialty title. The pic placed No. 6.

Angel Studios’ Sound of Freedom crossed the $170 million mark domestically in its sixth weekend with $4.8 million for a cume of $172.8 million.

Aug. 13, 7:40 a.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates.
Aug. 13, 9:00 a.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates.