The big question now is whether or not “Barbie” has enough gas in the tank to overtake “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” globally. Universal and Illumination struck gold earlier this year with the animated take on the Nintendo video game series. For what it’s worth, “Barbie” is currently pacing ahead of “Mario” at this point in their respective theatrical runs. “Mario” had notched just over $700 million worldwide after its second weekend, but it also only had a 37% drop, representing a better hold. The deciding factor will be whether or not competition forces a bigger drop for “Barbie” in the coming weeks.
For now, that hasn’t really hasn’t been an issue at all. Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” had a disastrous start, taking in just $24.2 million this past weekend, debuting in third place on the charts. So that certainly isn’t going to cause any issues. This week, meanwhile, we have “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” opening mid-week, with “Meg 2: The Trench” serving as the weekend’s other big new release. Will either of them have enough juice to claim the throne? Probably not, as they will likely have to settle for second and third place, respectively.
Still, the competition could split moviegoers a bit. But things are relatively quiet in August, giving this doll plenty of room to run. Vegas odds would probably tell you to bet on her running all the way to the number one spot when all’s said and done.