UK and US Box Office; Greta Gerwig breaks new record with ‘Barbie’ movie, while Meg 2 and TMNT open strong

That’s Billionaire Barbie to you now, after the weekend box office in the United States has shown no slowing down of the “Barbenheimber” juggernaut for another week across both sides of the Atlantic. “Barbie” has now officially joined “The Super Mario Bros Movie” as a 2023 blockbuster, pulling in $1 billion at the box office and in doing so making its director, Greta Gerwig, the most successful female director in terms of box office numbers - being the first female to reach that figure in history.

But as opposed to previous weeks where both the Margot Robbie/Ryan Gosling movie held pole position at the cinema, and Christopher Nolan’s epic “Oppenheimer” still performing strongly despite being displaced from second at the box office, the weekend’s latest films have had more luck compared to Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion,” which counts as another flop for the House of Mouse in their annus horribulus of 2023.

“Oppenheimer” was knocked off second place at the US box office by Jason Statham’s giant shark film “The Meg 2,” while “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”, similar to “The Meg 2”, likewise came in ahead of expectations with a five-day debut of $43.1 million, including $28 million for the three-day weekend.

The movie’s performance cements Paramount’s leadership position in the otherwise challenged family space and puts it on the way to successfully rebooting the TMNT big-screen franchise, after numerous stop/start attempts previously.

Speaking about “The Haunted Mansion,” things have gone from bad to worse regarding the latest Disney adaptation of a theme park ride: it plunged 63 per cent in its second weekend at the box office, earning $9 million USD for a domestic tally of $42 million and $59.6 million globally. Angel Studios’ sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom” fell to No. 6 domestically, grossing an estimated $7.6 million in its fifth weekend, fuelled by the idea of the film suggesting audiences pay it forward and buy a ticket for a friend who might benefit from seeing the film.

The US Box Office chart (as of August 7 2023)

All information relevant as of August 7 2023 and sourced from Box Office Mojo.

1. Barbie

2. The Meg 2: The Trench

3. Oppenheimer

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

5. The Haunted Mansion

6. Sound of Freedom

7. Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part One

8. Talk To Me

9. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny

10. Elemental

The UK Box Office chart (as of August 7 2023)

All information relevant as of August 7 2023 and sourced from Box Office Mojo.

1. Barbie

2. Oppenheimer

3. Elemental

4. Talk To Me

5. Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny

6. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

7. Insidious: The Red Door

8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

9. Bro

10. The Little Mermaid