‘Barbenheimer’s’ Global Box Office Battle: How the Two Blockbusters Are Performing in Countries Around the World

“Barbie” has dominated the box office in the United States and Canada, making over $485.4 million as of Aug. 9. “Oppenheimer” has made almost exactly half of that just before its fourth weekend of release, coming in at $245.5 million.

China, which is culturally remote from the Barbie-doll phenomenon and its western standards of beauty, initially shunned “Barbie.” But after opening poorly – fifth place with just $8.2 million in its opening three days – the film has shown some powers of endurance.

Chinese state media has frequently ridiculed Hollywood for its diversity and inclusiveness efforts, an attitude suggesting that Greta Gerwig and Hasbro’s multiracial, gender-fluid reinterpretation of society stood little chance of major success in the Middle Kingdom. But, in a country where male violence against women is an enduring scourge, “Barbie” has become a trending social media topic and has been quietly embraced by those seeking a more just society. Box office to date is $34 million after 18 days on release.

After three weekends, “Barbie” has grossed $87.5 million and “Oppenheimer” $53.4 million in the U.K. In the process, “Barbie” surpassed “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($67.7 million) to become the highest grossing film of the year, with “Oppenheimer” in third place. “Barbenheimer” powered the July box office to $205.1 million. The July box office was 78% higher than June and 27% higher than July 2022.

“Barbie” has also been received better in Mexico, where it has grossed over $48.9 million to date. However, it has recently been overtaken by “Meg 2” on the box office charts. “Oppenheimer,” on the other hand, has made around $15.4 million to date.

The release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in synchronized fashion on July 20 led to Australia’s biggest cinema weekend since the pandemic. Both have continued strongly into their third week. “Barbie” has passed A$60 million ($41.1 million), making it the top film of the year to date and Warner Bros.’ highest grossing film ever in the market. “Oppenheimer” has a more than respectable $19.3 million.

It’s been a tighter race between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in Germany. “Barbie” has earned $34 million in the country since its release, with “Oppenheimer” just behind with more than $28.5 million.

Korea was on Robbie’s promo tour and the country was among the first to open “Barbie” (July 19). But the film opened meekly against decent local competition and has not revived — $3.89 million after nearly three weeks in cinemas counts as a flop. Searching for an explanation, commentators have suggested that feminism is a dirty world in male-dominated Korea. Korean society is arguably the most hierarchical in the world and those who question the status quo are considered troublemakers.

Korean audiences, who typically embrace top quality acting performances, may find “Oppenheimer” more interesting. It releases on Aug. 15.

“Barbie” fever has also reached France, with Gerwig’s film grossing $29.3 million so far. However, the French — who tend to appreciate darker films than the average moviegoer — are also enjoying “Oppenheimer,” making it a close second with over $26.5 million earned in the country as of last weekend.

There remains no current release date for “Oppenheimer” in Japan, which suffered the nuclear bombing discussed in the film.  

“Barbie” is set to release on Friday (Aug. 11), but sensitivities have been stirred by distributor Warner Bros.’ apparent endorsement of fan-created “Barbenheimer” memes that had made light of nuclear detonations. In an unusual step, Warner Japan publicly criticized its U.S. parent company, eliciting a quick and unconditional apology. It is not clear whether that storm has now dissipated, or whether the chance of “Oppenheimer” ever releasing in Japan has been made more remote.

“Barbie” reigns in Spain, and has made $26 million in the country, topping the box office charts until last weekend’s release of “Meg 2.” To date, Oppenheimer has grossed a similarly impressive $14.4 million.

It’s been neck-and-neck in the Netherlands for “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” with “Barbie” earning $12.32 million so far and “Oppenheimer” taking in $13 million. But, “Oppenheimer” has topped the box office charts for the past couple of weeks.

“Barbie” has highly outperformed “Oppenheimer” in Brazil, earning $39.5 million in the country as of Aug. 7, while “Oppenheimer” has picked up only $10.3 million.

Hong Kong, a market where Hollywood and local-Cantonese films are typically the biggest draws, got “Barbenheimer” on July 20, like Australia, but had a different reaction. “Oppenheimer” has reached $6.9 million, while “Barbie’s” cultural references have not fully resonated. It has $3.67 million to date.

India is perhaps the biggest market where “Oppenheimer” has outgrossed “Barbie.” It is also the only major market where official and reliable box office numbers are hard to come by. Despite a sex scene featuring a line from Hindu holy scripture “Bhagavad Gita” that raised some hackles, “Oppenheimer” opened in pole position in a market where Hollywood has just a 10% market share with the audience preferring local fare. After three weekends, per Box Office Mojo, “Oppenheimer” has $17 million in India.

There are no official numbers available for “Barbie,” but informed industry estimates place the India gross at $5.8 million, a third of “Oppenheimer.” While the performance of “Barbie” is respectable in a market where the brand and the doll has nowhere near the kind of cachet it enjoys elsewhere, the success of “Oppenheimer” is harder to decode.

As producer Siddharth Roy Kapur, former head of Disney India who has also served as the president of the Producers Guild of India, observed in a recent interview with Variety: “Oppenheimer” broke “all the rules” as a “non-sequel, non-IP — that holy grail of pure cinema.”

“Oppenheimer” topped the box office in the United Arab Emirates for the first two weekends after its release, only taken down by “Meg 2’s” release last weekend. So far, the film has grossed an impressive $6.6 million in the country.

“Barbie” just released in the UAE on Thursday, so it’s too early to know how the film’s debut went over. After a release date was originally set for July 21, “Barbie” faced delays in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over edits the region wanted to make allegedly pertaining to LGBTQ-related themes. Films releasing in the region are often cut to align with its conservative ideals regarding sex, homosexuality and religious issues. If the studio is unwilling to make these edits, then the film can be banned in the region, which happened recently with “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” due to the appearance of a “Protect Trans Lives” flag.

Though “Barbie” has made more than “Oppenheimer” in Poland, having earned $10.9 million so far, “Oppenheimer” creeped up to the No. 1 spot at the box office for the weekend of Aug. 4. It earned a slightly higher $1.147 million compared to “Barbie’s” $1.144 million last weekend, suggesting a potential sea change in the country’s box office behavior. In total, “Oppenheimer” has made $7.1 million in Poland thus far.

Colombia has embraced “Barbie,” which has earned $8.5 million in the country so far, much of which was made during the movie’s stellar $4.4 million opening. “Oppenheimer” has made $2.67 million as of last weekend.

“Oppenheimer” has done extremely well in Saudi Arabia, having grossed $10.2 million so far. The historical drama has topped the country’s box office in all three weekends of its release.

However, as in the UAE, “Barbie” was just released on Thursday after facing a potential delay, allegedly due to its LGBTQ and feminist themes. Only time will tell if the film will catch up with “Oppenheimer,” though its action and animation-leaning box office history suggests that it may not.

Like in Australia, “Barbie” took off in New Zealand, topping the box office charts for all three weekends of its release and grossing over $6.2 million so far. “Oppenheimer” has also done well, though it has only earned roughly half of “Barbie’s” total, making $2.9 million in the country so far.

“Oppenheimer” is outperforming “Barbie” in Turkey, earning $5.2 million to date compared to “Barbie’s” $3.19 million. Though “Barbie” debuted on top with a $1.5 million opening, “Oppenheimer” has held the No. 1 spot on the box office charts for the past two weekends.