After ruling the box-office for 4 weekends, Barbie moves to second place as DC’s superhero picture Blue Beetle takes the top spot.
‘Blue Beetle’ Beating ‘Barbie’ With $25M to $27M, ‘Strays’ Fails
Still, ‘Blue Beetle’ is looking at one of the lowest openings among any title in the DC Extended Universe.
Oppenheimer jumps the $700 million mark globally.
After ruling the box-office for 4 weekends, Barbie moves to second place as DC’s superhero picture Blue Beetle takes the top spot.
Blue Beetle is on course to open to $25 million to $27 million in North America after earning $10 million Friday, including $3.3 million in previews. And it remains to be seen what impact the looming tropical storm has on grosses in Los Angeles, the movie’s top market, and other parts of Southern California.
It’s understandable why the superhero pic may be feeling a little blue. Not only is Blue Beetle coming in behind expectations — heading into the weekend, but tracking had also suggested $28 million to $32 million — it is looking at one of the lowest openings ever for a title in the DC Extended Universe, not adjusted for inflation.
Director Ángel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle is Hollywood’s first live-action superhero film built around a Latino protagonist and hopes to be breakthrough movie for Latino Audiences and for Latino representation in front of and behind the camera.
Xolo Maridueña stars in the titular role opposite Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén and Becky G.
According to exit polling service PostTrak, 40 percent of Friday’s ticket buyers were Latino (usually, it might be 30 percent).
Blue Beetle has been hampered by the SAG-AFTRA strike, which means Soto’s cast couldn’t participate in the publicity tour.
Audience reaction and demo breakdowns: it earned a B+ CinemaScore, and played heavily male (66 percent).
Barbie is looking at a fifth-weekend gross of $20 million to $21 million or more in North America.
Chris Nolan’s Oppenheimer in third place with $11 million. From Universal, Oppenheimer will achieve another major milestone this weekend when clearing the $700 million mark globally to become Nolan’s fourth-biggest film ever.
Strays
Universal’s raunchy canine comedy Strays should open to $8.5 million, putting the pic in a close battle with Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem for fourth place.
Strays, which earned a B+ CinemaScore, is the latest in string of R-rated summer comedies to fall flat at the box office.
The star-packed voice cast includes Will Ferrel, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park and Josh Gad.
Similar to Blue Beetle, the picture hasn’t been able to include the voice cast in publicity plans.
