Blue Beetle will dethrone Barbie at the box office—but not by much
Blue Beetle has finally become the movie to knock Barbie out of its top position at the summer box office
Aux News Barbie
The reign of Queen Barbie, savior of summer cinema, lord and ruler of the box office, has finally come to a close, it seems: Although Greta Gerwig’s bright pink opus is still expected to make perfectly good money in theaters this weekend—it’ll probably pass The Super Mario Bros. Movie to become the highest domestic box office performer of 2023, another jewel for its very shiny plastic tiara—it’s still expected to land behind new superhero movie Blue Beetle when the numbers are added up.
That doesn’t mean Blue Beetle is making good money, mind you: The DC Comics movie, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, is expected to bring in about $25 million this weekend—great if you’re in your fifth week in theaters like Barbie is, pretty dismal for an opening. And while Blue Beetle, with a budget of around $100 million, was on the cheap side to make, as far as superhero movies go—having originally been conceived as a direct-to-streaming HBO Max movie, before Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav exploded that particular part of the company’s streaming strategy last year—its arrival is still another data point in the ongoing narrative about superhero fatigue. (And especially DC superhero fatigue, after lackluster performances from The Flash and Shazam! Fury Of The Gods earlier this year.)
Certainly, Blue Beetle’s take isn’t expected to be anything close to Barbie money, and we have to imagine Warner Bros. is feeling a bit ambivalent about handing off the crown to itself in this case; it’s worth noting that if Blue Beetle had opened last week, it would have likely been buried well beneath the floor of Margot Robbie’s dreamhouse, since Gerwig’s movie made nearly $34 million in domestic markets even as it crossed its “one month in theaters” milestone.
17 Comments
His groin area in the header photo bothers me… how does that arch-metal crotch promote movement…?
Here’s the headline, boys: Blue Beet’ Beats Barbie at BO
I like to think of it more as a beetle musk.
My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you and I thank you.
Beetle Beats Barbie, Barbie Bleeds Badly
The Beetle’s Rubber Sole Kicks In A Skittish Invasion Of Barbie’s Dream House
Don’t you mean:Blue Beet Bet Boasts Boffo BO – Busts Barbie and the Big Bomb
Oh, that’s good!You should apply to VARIETY right away!
Barbie going up against Batgirl would have been interesting ( better than Oppenheimer anyway). But Zaslav blew that one.
I’m kind of amazed Zaslav let this one get a theatrical release—Wait, Blue Beetle’s a dude, right? No, I’m not at all surprised Zaslav let this get a theatrical release, while the one with the girl in it got mulched!
Yeah, I’ll never forgive Zaslav for that shit.
Same. Screw that guy.
https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2023/08/19/blue-beetle-becomes-a-bug-blockbusterHopefully it has the legs to become profitable. This may not be the most original superhero movie, but it’s crafted with love. Everyone brought their A-game for this beloved
B-lister. Just getting one Blue Beetle movie this well made is a
victory in itself!
I feel like Gunn messed up by both proclaiming The Flash as one of the greatest comic book movies of all time, announcing his slate at the beginning of the year, and saying Blue Beetle is in the DCU. Interest in DC (except Batman) is at an all-time low.Fun fact: the highest grossing DCEU film since Aquaman is Black Adam at just under 400M.
That’s nice. I saw BB and thought it was just pretty good but frankly given WB/DC’s track record “pretty good” might as well be “Oscar-worthy” at this point. And I like the character so honestly even if it looks like it might be ultimately a bust, I’m glad a C-lister like Jaime can get a day in the sun. Here’s hoping that maybe just maybe since it didn’t tie itself too closely to the dead DCEU, maybe it can survive the regime change/reboot and get a sequel or at least the character can get a spot on an eventual team-up movie.
I was fine with it and the effects were okay, but the whole “No! Don’t Kill Anyone Terminator Two!” shit in movies has to stop.
My favorite part of the “We can’t kill anyone” philosophy Jaime insists on is the subsequent total disregard Milagro has when she has the Blue Beetle (Tank?) stab through some guys while charging the fortress. There’s just a trail of dead bodies left in its wake.