Title: “DC’s ‘Blue Beetle’ Defeats ‘Barbie’ at Domestic Box Office”
Date: [Insert Date]
In a surprising turn of events at the box office, DC’s latest superhero adventure, “Blue Beetle,” has claimed the top spot, dethroning the popular “Barbie.” Despite a softer-than-expected debut with $25.4 million, “Blue Beetle” managed to surpass expectations and secure the No. 1 position.
“Barbie” gracefully landed in second place with $21.5 million, a remarkable result considering it has been in theaters for five weeks. Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy has now generated an impressive $567 million and is on track to soon overtake Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” as the biggest domestic release of the year, with $574 million.
Costing over $100 million to produce and promote, “Blue Beetle” faces the challenge of justifying its substantial budget. Reviews and word of mouth may prove crucial in filling seats, as the film currently holds a “B+” CinemaScore and a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unfortunately, “Blue Beetle” joins the ranks of the underperforming DC films of 2023, following in the footsteps of “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “The Flash.” However, it is worth noting that these films featured more well-known characters compared to the relatively unknown Blue Beetle. Despite the disappointment of its predecessors, anticipation is high for the upcoming release of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” in December.
In addition to the DC films, Universal’s talking-dog comedy, “Strays,” also stumbled in its debut, earning only $8.3 million from 3,223 theaters and landing in fifth place. With an estimated budget of $46 million, the R-rated comedy may struggle to find an audience overseas, where the appeal of funny films is often limited.
The scarcity of theatrical comedies in Hollywood today is evident, as even a star-studded voice cast featuring Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx could not rescue “Strays” from its underwhelming performance. It fell behind Jennifer Lawrence’s raunchy “No Hard Feelings” and Universal’s drug-fueled “Cocaine Bear” in terms of box office earnings, barely surpassing Bert Kreischer’s stand-up inspired film, “The Machine.”
Amidst the new releases, two holdovers continued to perform well. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” claimed the third spot with $11 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its total ticket sales to $286 million. The R-rated historical drama has also surpassed the $700 million mark globally, becoming Nolan’s fourth-highest grossing movie. It currently ranks as the fourth-biggest release of the year behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Barbie,” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.”
At the fourth position, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” collected $8.4 million from 3,477 theaters. The animated family comedy has now earned $88.1 million in North America after three weekends on the big screen.
As the box office competition continues, moviegoers can expect more updates on the performance of these films. Stay tuned for further developments.