The Box Office Report: 'Blue Beetle' bests 'Barbie'

Thanks to positive reviews, the latest DC superhero film scored the No. 1 spot while 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' remained strong.

Xolo Maridueña in Blue Beetle. / Warner Bros. Pictures

Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of Aug. 18-20, 2023.

1. Blue Beetle

Weekend gross: $25.4M
Total domestic gross: $25.4M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA

After a four-weekend reign, Barbie no longer stands at the top of the box office. Blue Beetle, Warner Bros.’ soft launch of its new James Gunn-led cinematic universe, claimed the No. 1 spot this weekend.

Blue Beetle’s box office victory likely wouldn’t have happened in previous weekends against Barbie. A $25.4 million debut ranks between the Wonder Woman 1984’s $16.7 million opening and The Suicide Squad’s $26.2 million opening — and both of those films were pandemic era releases that were also available on HBO Max.

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2. Barbie

Weekend gross: $21.5M
Total domestic gross: $567.1M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 36

Barbie finished in second place this weekend (only missing a fifth weekend at No. 1 by $4 million), but Greta Gerwig’s film has a ton to be proud of. It’s Warner Bros.’ biggest domestic box office haul, passing the $533.7 million grossed by The Dark Knight. It currently sits at No. 15 on the all-time domestic chart, less than $10 million away from passing The Super Mario Bros. Movie. And it’s made more than $1.2 billion worldwide.