Oppenheimer
Summary
Oppenheimerhas aid reveal a box office curse forUniversal . The biographic thriller about the life sentence of J. Robert Oppenheimer occur out on the same July 2023 weekend as Greta Gerwig’sBarbie , a flick with a diametrically opposed tone and vividness palette that inspired the viral " Barbenheimer " three-fold feature frenzy . WhileBarbierocketed past $ 1 billion to become the highest - grossing motion picture of the year , Oppenheimeralso shattered records , watch closely behind to become the third highest - grossing picture show of 2023 with a worldwide gross of $ 952 million ( include $ 326 million domestic ) at the time of writing .
PerDeadline , theOppenheimerbox officeis one of several tentpole hits that helped Universal become the highest - gross studio at the 2023 domesticated corner office . The company has take No . 1 for the first time since 2015 , above No . 2 company Disney , which had several high-pitched - visibility flop this year , includingIndiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyandWish . Universal ’s $ 1.93 billion at the domestic loge power this twelvemonth was bolstered by the succeeder of other strike as well , includingThe Super Mario Bros. Movie($574.9 million),Fast X($150.1 million ) , andFive Nox at Freddy’s($137.2 million ) .
Even Disney has n’t beaten Universal ’s animated movies at the box office since 2019 , so Super Mario Bros ' record - relegate success is n’t lurid .
How Will 2024 Go for Universal?
While 2023 has been a banner year for Universal movies , the studio apartment did have its parcel of domesticated flops . This includes the lamia moviesRenfield($17.3 million ) andThe Last Voyage of the Demeter($13.6 million ) , as well as the animated featureRuby Gillman , Teenage Kraken($15.8 million ) . Also potentially in the red is the legacy horror sequelThe Exorcist : Believer($65.5 million ) , which earned $ 136.1 million worldwide but has yet to justify the company ’s $ 400 million softwood for the franchise ’s distribution right wing on top of its $ 30 million output budget .
It remain to be see if the company’s2024 moviestrend more towards hit or dud . However , there are quite a few franchise tentpole title that could help hike Universal ’s prospects in the coming year . This includesKung Fu Panda 4,Despicable Me 4,Twisters , Gladiator 2 , andWicked : Part One . While some of those franchises have strong contemporary name identification than others , any of them could prove to be a major hit .
prizefighter 2sees film director Ridley Scott returning to helm the subsequence to the Best Picture - winning original .
Other untested claim could follow theOppenheimerroute and become surprise smash hit forUniversalin 2024 . This includes the Henry Cavill undercover agent comedyArgylle , the Blumhouse horror movieNight Swim , and the untitled Universal Monsters movie that is reteamingScream VIdirectors Matt Bettinelli - Olpin and Tyler Gillett with whizz Melissa Barrera . While it remain to be seen if Universal can claim No . 1 again , it boasts a unattackable ticket that may be able to vie well in a year with fewer title due to delays from the dual Hollywood strikes that took position in 2023 .
Source : Deadline
