'Blue Beetle' rises to the challenge, ends 'Barbie's month-long reign at box office

NEW YORK − The DC superhero film “Blue Beetle” led weekend ticket sales with an estimated $25.4 million, according to studio estimates, dethroning “Barbie” from the top spot after a record-setting run that left movie theaters pink for a month.

The “Barbie” phenomenon is far from over. Greta Gerwig’s film, which earlier this week became the highest-grossing Warner Bros. release ever domestically, nearly managed to stay No. 1 again with $21.5 million in its fifth weekend. Its tally in North America is up to $567.3 million.

And the other half of “Barbenheimer” also continues to perform remarkably well for a movie so far into its run. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” took in $10.6 million in its fifth week. With a $285.2 million domestic total, “Oppenheimer” now owns the distinction of being the biggest box-office hit never to land at No. 1 at the weekend box office. The previous record-holder for that unlikely stat is 2016’s “Sing,” which grossed $270.3 million in the shadow of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Hidden Figures.”

“Oppenheimer” has done even better overseas. The global gross stands at an estimated $717.8 million through Sunday.

“Blue Beetle” came in on the lower side of already-modest expectations, notching one of the lower debuts for a DC Comics movie. Though earlier planned as a streaming-only release, the studio elected to put “Blue Beetle,” starring Xolo Maridueña as DC's first leading Latino superhero, into theaters in late summer, a typically quiet period at the box office.

The production price tag was lower for “Blue Beetle” (about $105 million) than the average superhero film. It’s the final release produced under an earlier regime at DC Studios, which James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reins of last year.

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The film, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, drew solid reviews – certainly, better than the three previous DC releases this year (“The Flash,” “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”). “Blue Beetle” (76% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) is the rare comic-book film to put a Hispanic cast front and center.

But it also faced some tough luck, and not just the unexpected staying power of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” Southern California was bracing Sunday for Hurricane Hilary − potentially dampening ticket sales in the region. (Los Angeles was still its top market.) And like recent releases, “Blue Beetle” didn’t have its cast available to promote the movie due to the ongoing actors strike.

The raunchy R-rated canine comedy “Strays” showed even less bite. The film, with a voice cast including Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, landed in fifth place with $8.4 million. Comedies have generally struggled in theaters in recent years, but “Strays” had it particularly rough given that its starry cast was unavailable.

Final numbers are expected Monday.

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