Oppenheimer, which cost $100 million to make, outperformed Barbie, which cost $150 million, in domestic collections on the first day. Oppenheimer’s opening day take is Rs 17.5 crore, while Barbie’s collection is Rs 5.3 crore, according to figures given by Warner Bros. Discovery, the distributor of both films in India.
Both films were released on July 21 (Friday) amid high expectations from the film fraternity that they would attract audiences back to theaters. The gross domestic box office collection for the first half of 2023 dropped 15% YoY to Rs 4,868 crore, as per Ormax Media.
Globally, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal’s Universal Pictures is the distributor for Oppenheimer, while Warner Bros. is the distributor for Barbie. In India, Warner Bros. is distributing both films since Universal Pictures shut its India operations in 2020.
“We have had a stupendous response to the first weekend bookings of both Oppenheimer and Barbie, both of which have their own unique set of audiences,” said Gautam Dutta, Co-CEO, PVR Inox.
He also stated that all IMAX shows for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer on the PVR Inox circuit are sold out. “We have scheduled shows as early as 3.45 am to accommodate as many shows on IMAX so that Nolan fans do not miss out on the action for the movie shot on IMAX format,” Dutta said.The PVR Inox Co-CEO went on to say that the multiplex chain’s premium screen formats like P[XL] and BIGPIX had above-average occupancies of more than 55%. “Considering Oppenheimer is also dubbed in Hindi, we are seeing a wider viewership of the movie beyond the metros.”He also stated that Barbie, which falls in a different genre, has drawn family audiences cut across generations with average occupancies beyond 45%. He added that the movie has been well received in the ICE Immersive format, which features LED panels on each side of the auditorium.
Both movies are generating huge word-of-mouth customer reviews, and what is extremely encouraging is that they are not choosing to watch either of the two movies but preferring to watch both, which is translating to occupancies beyond 60%,” he added.
Producer and film business analyst Girish Johar said both films are expected to exit the opening weekend with combined collections of close to Rs 70 crore. He estimated that Oppenheimer’s opening weekend collection may be Rs 50 crore, while Barbie’s would be Rs 17 crore.
Elara Capital SVP Karan Taurani, Oppenheimer, and Barbie’s lifetime domestic box office collections are anticipated to reach Rs 70–80 crore and Rs 40–50 crore, respectively.
Even though Oppenheimer has eclipsed Barbie in India, the scenario is the opposite globally. Barbie earned $41.4 million in 51 regions worldwide, while Oppenheimer earned $15.7 million in 57 markets, according to Deadline.
