National Cinema Day Impact and Controversy: “Gran Turismo” from Sony and “Barbie” from Warner Bros. are fighting for the top spot at the box office, with only $200,000 separating their weekend earnings. This is because there are a lot of other movies vying for attention, and National Cinema Day is also affecting ticket sales.
“Gran Turismo,” a Sony racing film directed by Neill Blomkamp and based on a genuine story and PlayStation game, topped the box office with $17.3 million in sales. This win was talked about because previews contributed heavily to its weekend earnings. It generated $8.5 million on Friday, $1.4 million from previews on Thursday, and $3.9 million from shows before Thursday.
Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” would have topped the charts for the fifth weekend without “Gran Turismo’s” sneak peeks. The movie is predicted to make $17.1 million, down 19% from the weekend before. “Barbie” earned $18.2 million abroad, totaling $1.34 billion worldwide. This became Warner Bros.’s highest-grossing global film, surpassing “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Warner Bros.’ “Blue Beetle” finished third with $46.3 million from $12.8 million in ticket sales.
“Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan and released by Universal, is estimated to gross $9 million this weekend, surpassing $300 million. Due to strong international performance, it is worth $777.2 million worldwide.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” ranks fifth. It earned $6.1 million during the weekend, raising its North American total to $98.1 million. “Meg 2: The Trench” ranked sixth, earning $5.1 million locally and $352.5 million globally.
The R-rated comedy “Strays” debuted ninth and is estimated to earn $4.6 million. The first weekend of Liam Neeson’s “Retribution” brought in $3.3 million, placing it seventh. The movie boasts 61% men and 82% over 25 viewers, but its “C” CinemaScore suggests it may not stay at the top. “The Hill,” starring Dennis Quaid, placed ninth and generated $2.5 million this weekend.
“Talk to Me,” an A24 horror film, narrowly made $2.1 million to stay in the top 10. Behind it was “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1”.
The weekend box office for “Golda,” starring Helen Mirren as former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, was $1.7 million. Emma Seligman’s “Bottoms” is equally noteworthy. It only played in ten theaters but grossed $51,600 per venue.
Most pundits predicted “Barbie” would outperform “Gran Turismo” at the box office. Just 81 people predicted the latter would win. Although several of his predictions were inaccurate, “DanC” won the weekend prediction game with 59,120 points.
“The Equalizer 3,” starring Denzel Washington, will be released over Labor Day weekend, prompting more box office projections.
Finally, Gold Derby lets fans and experts compete in an excellent way if they like movies and forecasts. Updates modify track odds, which can affect Hollywood. So, pay attention and guess correctly!
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