NEW YORK – In the huge movie weekend of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”, There were many winners. Greta Gerwig, the wrote history for women directors. Christopher Nolan, who reached a peak in his non-Batman career. Cinemas, more crowded than ever after the pandemic. lover of unlikely double functions. The color Pink. Matchbox Twenty.
But one of the major triumphs in the cinema monsoon of Barbenheimer has been originality. Here are two movies that aren’t sequels or reboots that are propelling the box office to levels not seen in years. “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” became memes due to their world-spanning differences, but they are all indelibly the work of these filmmakers.
“Barbie”, based on the Mattel doll, had extremely well-known intellectual property. And the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb is from not a small moment in history. Nolan is also a brand itself.
But Hollywood’s biggest zeitgeist in years was propelled by two movies with no Roman numerals, Jedi, or superhero in sight. At the same time, some of the most reliable film franchises, from Marvel to Fast and the Furious, are no longer leaders.
The film business could change. Audiences show a renewed taste for something fresh. “Barbenheimer” could perhaps be a turning point.
“I’ve always joked that if there’s one tornado movie that works, there will be three tornado movies next year. There is an internal bias against doing what works,” said Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “I hope that these original films from well-known filmmakers will convince studios to go in that direction instead of doing what’s safe.
“The numbers don’t lie,” added Gelfond.
And the numbers are stunning. Total box office receipts in US and Canadian theaters topped $300 million over the weekend, the fourth highest of all time. Warner Brothers’ “Barbie” grossed $162 million domestically, the best opening of the year. Universal’s “Oppenheimer” grossed $82.4 million. These results, which received months of critical acclaim a viral double feature drum beatnearly doubled expectations and stunned Hollywood.
Many are hoping Hollywood will learn a lesson from Barbenheimer other than greenlighting further toy adaptations and the inevitable Barbie sequel.
“Everyone stopped by this weekend to see two original, intelligent, quality films,” wrote Clare Binns, managing director of indie distributor Picturehouse, on Twitter. “It’s what the audience wants. Reboots, superheroes and films with bloated budgets that often make up for a lack of ideas – time to take stock. There are no algorithms this weekend.”
Recently, some of the biggest film franchises have shown signs of wear and tear.
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” comes 42 years after Raiders of the Lost Ark. could not ignite in the cinemas. It grossed $335 million worldwide, more than double the budget of “Barbie,” which cost $145 million.
The tenth Fast and the Furious film, Fast X, was a dud domestically, although international sales were robust. Within three days, “Barbie” had already surpassed its North American total of $145.9 million.
The seventh “Mission: Impossible” film, “Dead Reckoning Part One” underperformed before being blown away by “Barbenheimer”. The second weekend it was down 64%.
Meanwhile, recent Marvel and DC movies haven’t come anywhere near the level of grossing that comic book adaptations used to be. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a hit, grossing $843 million worldwide, but films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Flash fell well short of expectations.
The nostalgia business isn’t going away, nor is Hollywood’s reliance on remakes and sequels. Among last year’s top 10 films at the box office, one film was a reboot (“The Batman”) and the rest were sequels.
But such an over-reliance on more and more of the same would surely run out of steam one day – and this year’s best performers are coming from entirely new places.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.3 billion worldwide) isn’t anyone’s idea of cutting-edge cinema, but it reflects it Hollywood’s new embrace of the giant gaming industry.
The second biggest hit of the year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($375.2 million domestically) is another Spider-Man film. But it and its predecessor “Into the Spider-Verse” are determined to turn the comic book convention on its head and expanding the notion of who a superhero can be.
Originality can be riskier for studios, but the rewards can be immense – Just ask James Cameron. Its reigning franchise giant, Avatar, raked in $2.3 billion with Avatar: The Way of Water, a futuristic sci-fi epic that essentially created its own IP.
What else works? Films that appeal to previously underserved audiences. “Creed III” starring Michael B. Jordan, exceeded all expectations in March In the end, more than 275 million US dollars were available worldwide with a budget of 75 million US dollars. Religious distributor Angel Studios’ “Sound of Freedom” has grossed $124 million in three weeks — despite the distributor using a standard “pay it forward” purchase program.
And of course, horror remains the easiest money. Insidious: The Red Door is just the latest in a long, bloody line of low-budget, high-performance titles from Blumhouse. With a budget of $16 million, it grossed $156 million worldwide.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are generally expected to play strong roles for weeks. They reminded everyone of the limitless cultural power of films. When stars, marketing power and cinematic vision collide, anything can happen. And of course, it doesn’t hurt if their names make for a fun, thrown-together nickname.
Whether that momentum wanes in the final weeks of summer will be left to a slew of releases – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Haunted Mansion, Gran Turismo, Strays, Blue Beetle – who may find it difficult to keep the spark alive. Meanwhile it is ongoing strike by actors and screenwriters has begun Mix up the fall movie schedule e. Hollywood stays embroiled in a fight for his future.
Since the pandemic, studios and theater owners have tried a variety of ways to get moviegoers back to theaters following the streaming platforms rush – from Tom Cruise jumping off a cliff to… $3 tickets for one day. But it could be that what moviegoers crave the most is to see something new.
Mark Harris, author of Hollywood history “Images of a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood believes that a looming change has “become undeniable.”
“In ‘Pictures at a Revolution,’ I wrote that an unexpected big hit is far more disruptive to the Hollywood system than a big flop,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “Here we are: TWO surprise hits that suggest that giving people what they haven’t seen, rather than what they have, brings people back to the movies.”
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Follow AP film writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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