Third place went to Oppenheimer, which added US$28.7 million from 3,612 locations in North America, bringing its domestic total to US$228.6 million. In just three weeks, the J Robert Oppenheimer biopic starring Cillian Murphy has become the highest grossing R-rated film of the year (ahead of John Wick Chapter 4) and the sixth-biggest of the year overall, surpassing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Oppenheimer also celebrated a landmark, crossing US$500 million globally in three weeks. Its worldwide tally is currently US$552.9 million, which puts it ahead of Dunkirk, which clocked out with US$527 million in 2017, and has become Nolan’s fifth-biggest film ever. It is also now among the four top grossing biographies ever (company includes Bohemian Rhapsody, The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper) and the biggest second world war film of all time.
Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was close behind in fourth place with an estimated US$28 million from 3,858 cinemas in North America. Since opening on Wednesday the film, which is riding on excellent reviews (96 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores, has earned US$43.1 million.
“This is one of those movies that is a multigenerational joy,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “I think the enduring popularity of Turtles is showing its true colours. And there hasn’t been an animated film in eight weeks and there won’t be another for eight weeks which is great for us.”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cost US$70 million to produce and features a starry voice cast that includes Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Paul Rudd, Ayo Edebiri and Seth Rogen, who produced and co-wrote the film, which leans into the “teenage” aspect of the turtles.
Barbie, Oppenheimer and even the surprise, anti-trafficking hit Sound of Freedom (now at US$163.5 million and ahead of Mission: Impossible 7) have helped fuel a boom at the box office, bringing in many millions more than was expected and helping to offset pains caused by some summer disappointments.
“After The Flash, Indiana Jones and, to a certain extent, Mission: Impossible, people were saying the summer was a disappointment. But it’s not over yet,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have a summer that is going to go out on a high note.”
But the moment of triumph for the industry is likely to be short lived if the studios cannot reach an agreement with striking actors and writers soon. The autumn release calendar is already looking slim, with some studios pushing films into 2024 instead of trying to promote them without film stars.
Sony had planned to release its PlayStation-inspired true story Gran Turismo in US cinemas nationwide next Friday, but will now be rolling it out slowly for two weeks before going wide on August 25. The thinking? If film stars cannot promote the film, maybe audiences can.
“We have to be realistic,” Dergarabedian said. “We’re on this emotional high of movies doing so well, but we have to temper our enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that the strike is creating a lot of uncertainty. The longer it goes on the more profound the issues become. But the audience has spoken and they love going to the movie theatre.”