‘TMNT’ Dethrones ‘Oppenheimer’ at Domestic Box Office as ‘Barbie’ Nears Half a Billion (2024)

A host of attractions both old and new are fueling an unusually strong first weekend of August. While Barbie is expected to three-peat at the top of the box office, two new titles — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Meg 2: The Trench — will duke it out against Oppenheimer in what is turning out to be a closely contested fight for the number two spot.

Barbie added $17 million on its third Friday, having shot past the $400 million mark a day earlier. On the cusp of crossing half-a-billion domestically, the film is expected to generate $54 million this weekend, marking only a slight 45% drop from the previous frame. The satirical comedy, directed by Greta Gerwig, had grossed $93 million in its sophom*ore weekend, after launching with a record-breaking $162 million in its opening frame. Globally, Barbie is expected to hit (if not pass) the $1 billion mark by tomorrow, becoming only the second film of the year to cross the coveted milestone after The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Surfacing in second place is Meg 2, starring Jason Statham and directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Ben Wheatley. The film grossed $12 million on Friday, which includes the $3.2 million that it generated from Thursday previews. Meg 2 is a sequel to 2018’s The Meg, which launched to $45 million domestically, and concluded its run with $145 million. But a strong performance in China sent it past the half-billion mark worldwide. Reviews for Meg 2have been harsh, to say the least, but at this stage it’s difficult to say what’ll be a bigger deterrent for the movie: competition, indifferent reviews, or China having essentially become a non-factor for Hollywood releases.

It's Going to Be a Tight Race for Number Two

Claiming the third spot with $9.3 million on Friday after debuting mid-week is Mutant Mayhem. The movie has generated $24 million so far, and is eyeing a $45 million haul across its extended five-day debut. Paramount’s animated franchise-starter is hoping to emulate the success of Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which was also produced on a similarly modest budget and went on to generate big bucks at the box office. As with Into the Spider-Verse, reviews for Mutant Mayhem have been excellent, and Paramount would be hoping for the film to restore the pride that was marginally lost because of Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’s underwhelming commercial performance.

Christopher Nolan’s three-hour biographical thriller about the father of the atomic bomb will have to settle for the fourth spot, at least on Friday. Oppenheimer added just under $8 million on its third Friday, and passed the $200 million mark in record time for an R-rated film distributed by Universal. The film is expected to gross $28 million this weekend, which should be good enough for it to reclaim the number two spot for the third weekend in a row. At this rate, Oppenheimer is poised to become one of the highest grossing films to never have topped the box office.

The top five was rounded out by Disney’s Haunted Mansion, which added $2.8 million on its second Friday, for a projected sophom*ore weekend haul of just under $10 million. This is a terrible result for a movie that reportedly cost $150 million to produce, and only made $24 million in its first weekend. It's eyeing a soft $42 million domestic running total by Sunday. You can watch our interview with Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.