Barbenheimer Blitz: Just How Much Money Will ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ Make?

Things have been looking pretty bleak in Hollywood as of late—but the upcoming Barbenheimer box office looks like it may provide a bright spot amid the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. According to Deadline, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are tracking to exceed $260 million combined at the global box office. 

According to presale estimates, Barbie is expected to pull anywhere from $90 million–$125 million in North America, outpacing another huge summer blockbuster—Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid—which pulled in $95.5 million its opening weekend. Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, is playing at 4,200 theaters, and its studio, Warner Bros., is reportedly confident that the film will pull in at least $75 million. Per Deadline, Barbie is looking at a potential $165 million haul globally, with $60 million–$65 million coming from 69 international markets—though not Vietnam where the film is banned. 

As for Oppenheimer, the first Nolan-directed feature for Universal and the last movie to hold a premiere before the actors strike is tracking to make anywhere from $40 million–$50 million domestic in 3,600 theaters, with another $45 million expected overseas—bringing the grand total to about $100 million globally. A $100 million global haul would be impressive for the three-hour, Cillian Murphy–led drama about the invention of the atomic bomb, which is already gaining buzz and has been pegged as an early Oscar front-runner. 

Many cinephiles are planning on doing a double feature of these wildly different films, which have taken over the internet due to their differing aesthetics and subject matter. AMC has stated that over 40,000 of their AMC Stubs members have bought advance tickets to see both films on the same day. A-listers like Tom Cruise—who is not involved with either film and even has a rival IMAX movie, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, currently in theaters—have encouraged moviegoers to see both films in the hopes of supporting cineplexes at a precarious time for Hollywood. “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than one with Oppenheimer and Barbie,” tweeted Cruise.