The billion dollar box-office behemoth Barbie has finally been dethroned by DC’s superhero picture Blue Beetle, which took the top spot with just $25.4 million – a DC Extended Universe domestic low debut save for Wonder Woman 1984, which was released in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously during the pandemic with $16.7 million.
Coming into this weekend it had been tough to predict the fate of the one-time HBO Max movie, with early projections pegging Blue Beetle with a mid-teens debut. However, attaching the trailer to Barbie and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, as well as some very positive reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes), saw the tracking rise to $30M+.
As it turned out the Angel Manuel Soto-directed origin story landed with $25.4 million at the North American box-office, which gives it the honour of ending Barbie‘s four-week reign at the top the charts, but also means it is the lowest domestic opening in the DC Extended Universe, not adjusted for inflation.
This news should come with the caveat that U.S. territories are currently being affected by Tropical Storm Hilary, and Blue Beetle’s budget ($104M) is less than that of its direct DCU competition (Shazam! Fury of the Gods – $125M, The Flash – £220M).
Internationally Blue Beetle grossed a further $18 million from 63 markets, for a global cume of $43.4 million. You can read our review of the film here.
Another debutant also delivered a below-par opening, with Universal’s shaggy dog story Strays (read our ★★★★ review here) heading straight for the pound, rather than the pound-note, with an $8.3 million bow-wow over the 3-day weekend, putting it in fifth place below Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Above them Barbenheimer continued to add to their huge grosses, with Barbie making a further $21.5 million, for a domestic total of $567.3 million and $1.279 billion worldwide. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer maintained its own impressive pace with $10.6 million, for a a domestic total of $285.2 million, and a global tally of $717.8 million.
All of the stats and statistics can be found over at BoxOfficeMojo, and don’t forget to let us know what movie you went to this weekend by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Originally published August 20, 2023. Updated August 21, 2023.
