Box Office: ‘Gran Turismo’ Narrowly Outraces ‘Barbie’ With Middling $17.3 Million

Sony’s film “Gran Turismo” is expected to barely surpass the competition, projecting to earn $17.3 million at the box office. However, “Barbie” is trailing closely with $17.1 million, raising the possibility that the summer blockbuster might regain its lead, leaving “Gran Turismo” in second place.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, emphasizes that these figures are estimates for a reason, given the mere $200,000 difference between the two movies. The final outcome will become clear on Monday.

In the case of “Gran Turismo,” its opening earnings include a significant $5.3 million from advance screenings and fan events organized by the studio in recent weeks. This accounting approach is somewhat unusual. Originally set to debut on August 11, Sony postponed the film’s release by two weeks and arranged multiple days of special screenings to build excitement and boost its visibility. While most studios include Thursday preview revenues in their opening totals, incorporating earnings from several weeks blurs the conventional concept of a “weekend.” It’s worth noting that “Gran Turismo” isn’t alone in this broad interpretation of a debut; Paramount’s “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” adopted a similar strategy by including results from various preview screenings in its opening weekend figures. This practice isn’t favored by Warner Bros., the studio behind “Barbie,” as it could potentially cost them the top spot. Jeff Bock, a box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, acknowledges the industry-wide trend of extending opening periods to encompass more previews and sneak peeks but suggests that this case goes beyond previous instances in its extent. He speculates that the intention is simply to secure a headline declaring their movie as number one.

Aside from the close race at the box office, this particular weekend in the midst of summer is drawing extra attention for another reason. Sunday marks the second National Cinema Day, during which over 3,000 theaters across North America will offer tickets for a mere $4. Theater owners hope to attract bargain-seeking audiences, ultimately boosting attendance and creating opportunities to sell higher-priced concessions. Privately, studios aren’t as enthusiastic due to the implication of cheaper ticket prices, and it remains uncertain how this will affect overall revenues.

The financial prospects for “Gran Turismo” aren’t particularly favorable. With a production budget of $60 million, the film will need strong word-of-mouth to turn a profit. Helmed by Neill Blomkamp, known for “District 9,” the movie revolves around Jann Mardenborough, a young man whose passion for the PlayStation game “Gran Turismo” propels him to success in auto racing. Starring Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, and Orlando Bloom, the film garnered mixed reviews, although Variety praised it as a “race-car movie that gives the audience a contact high.” Audience response seemed to align with this sentiment, as reflected in an A CinemaScore.

On the other hand, “Barbie” is enjoying substantial box office success, nearing a domestic gross of $600 million with $594.8 million earned up to the weekend. The film has already overtaken “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to become 2023’s highest-grossing domestic release. Meanwhile, “Blue Beetle,” in its second weekend, brought in $12.8 million. Despite a budget of over $100 million (plus extensive marketing expenses), the Warner Bros. and DC Films release “Blue Beetle” has generated a disappointing $46.3 million domestically.

Securing fourth place is Universal’s “Oppenheimer,” which earned $9 million. The exploration of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life has amassed an impressive $300.1 million in North America, making it Christopher Nolan’s third highest-grossing domestic release. It follows behind only “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises” in this regard. Additionally, it ranks fifth in terms of highest-grossing domestic films of 2023, surpassing “The Little Mermaid.”

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” released by Paramount, concludes the top five with $6.1 million, increasing the animated adventure’s domestic earnings to $98.1 million.

In the limited release category, “Bottoms,” a high school comedy from director Emma Seligman of “Shiva Baby,” achieved success with $516,254 from ten locations. This translates to an impressive per-screen average of $51,625. MGM produced the film, which is set to expand to 700 more screens across North America in the upcoming weekend.

Among other newly debuted films, “Retribution,” the latest installment in Liam Neeson’s series of aging action hero movies, earned a modest $3.3 million from 1,750 theaters. This type of film usually performs better through on-demand channels. Additionally, “Golda,” a biographical film about former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir released by Bleecker Street, opened with $1.7 million from just over 800 screens. Lastly, Briarcliff Entertainment’s “The Hill,” a faith-based narrative about a baseball player overcoming a physical disability, secured $2.5 million from 1,570 locations.

The upcoming weekend will see the return of Denzel Washington in “Equalizer 3,” concluding the summer of 2023 with a bang. Thus far, the box office has amassed approximately $3.9 billion in ticket sales, poised to cross the $4 billion threshold for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Dergarabedian concludes by remarking that achieving this milestone is significant, as many industry experts didn’t anticipate the box office reaching such heights.