‘Barbenheimer’ Opening Weekend Could Deliver $200 Million at the Box Office

Barbie and Oppenheimer have been affectionately dubbed “Barbenheimer” and treated as a double-feature ever since moviegoers found out they would be released on the same day. In their opening weekend, the two films could together generate $200 million at the box office, CNBC reported.

Warner Bros.' Barbie is expected to bring in at least $90 million in domestic ticket sales, with some estimates putting that number at upwards of $140 million this weekend alone. Universal's Oppenheimer is projected to bring in between $40 million and $60 million.

Taking into account ticket sales from already-released hit movies, including Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Sound of Freedom, this could be the most lucrative weekend for the box office so far this year, giving the movie industry a much-needed boost, according to CNBC.

Around 40,000 AMC Theatre loyalty program members have purchased tickets to see Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, with the National Association of Theatre owners projecting that more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings, CNBC reported.

Videos tagged with #barbenheimer have amassed nearly 165 million views on TikTok alone. The so-called double feature has become a viral sensation on Twitter, with memes combining the two seemingly polar opposite films --one a romp about a 64-year-old being widely shared across the site.

“Going into this weekend anticipation has been very high for both Barbie and Oppenheimer,” Jeffrey Kaufman, chief content officer at Malco Theatres, told CNBC. “Media coverage and the public embrace of the #Barbenheimer tag shows awareness and excitement for both releases.”

The two films were released Friday, with early screenings beginning Thursday evening.