Barbie Boasts Best Preview Box Office Numbers of 2023

Already boasting tremendous presales, Barbie made the box office her very own dreamhouse with the best preview numbers of the year.

Barbie turned the box office into its very own Barbieland with a launch that boasted the best preview numbers for any release this year.

Per Deadline, Barbie grossed $22.3 million in Thursday previews that started at 3,400 locations nationwide. This figure is the best preview number of the year, topping the $17.5 million earned by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earlier this summer. Even taking out the $1.1 million from that figure that was earned during Wednesday preview showings at 500 locations, $21.2 million is still the best figure take of 2023.

Barbie Is Set to Dominate the Box Office

Barbie is currently tracking for an opening between $110-130 million and all signs are pointing to the film hitting the high end of those predictions or even exceeding them. It was recently reported that Barbie's presales were the best since Avatar: The Way of Water and that film opened to $134 million back in December. Barbie also topped the preview numbers for James Cameron's return to Pandora which pulled in $17 million on preview night. Other preview numbers topped by Barbie include Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse ($17.35 million), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part 1 ($7 million), and Top Gun: Maverick ($19.3 million).

In other Barbenheimer news, Oppenheimer also started strong on preview night with a gross of $10.5 million at 3,150 theaters. Christopher Nolan's latest effort is tracking for an opening in the $50 million range and this preview number puts it on track for that figure or possibly a bit more. Oppenheimer's preview number is well ahead of the $5.5 million earned by Dunkirk and that film turned that start into a $50.5 million opening on this very same weekend back in 2017.

Propelling Barbie to even bigger potential financial success is that reviews have been stellar. As of this writing, Barbie is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89 percent and the audience score is a notch above that at 90 percent. In addition to great reviews, Barbie embarked on a huge marketing blitz that began last month to get the film's stars out to promote the project ahead of the SAG strike. Cross-promotion with merchandising has also been significant, with many trades pointing to the brilliance of the marketing campaign.

Based on the Mattel line of fashion dolls, Barbie stars Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken and follows the duo as they go on a journey of self-discovery after their expulsion from Barbieland into the real world. The film features an ensemble cast that also includes America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, and Will Ferrell, to name a few.

Barbie is now playing in theaters nationwide.