Blue Beetle dethrones Barbie, ends film's four-week US box office reign with $25.4M debut

Barbie has been reigning at the number 1 spot in terms of daily box office numbers since its release, precisely a month back. It, however, finally stands dethroned from its position of eminence. This feat has been achieved by DC's latest release, Blue Beetle. 

3 things you need to know

• Barbie released in theatres on July 21 alongside Oppenheimer in a double feature.
• The Greta Gerwig directorial recently crossed the threshold into the billion-dollar club.
• Blue Beetle was released in theatres on August 18.

Barbie is dethroned by Blue Beetle 

Barbie had a firm grip on the number one position at the domestic box office in North America for over a month since its July 21 release. This position now stands taken over by DC's latest superhero flick Blue Beetle. Despite the fact that Blue Beetle's performance is turning out to be quite placid considering its DC legacy and superhero genre, it has managed to dethrone a formidable record set by Barbie.

(Blue Beetle released in theatres on August 18 | Image: BlueBeetle/X)

Blue Beetle opened at $25.4 million at the domestic box office. The film earned $18 million from the overseas market bringing in $43.4 million and counting. These numbers fall short of the predicted range between $28-32 million for its opening weekend. Among other factors, tropical storm Hilary is being counted as a major detractor from better opening numbers.

Despite dethroning Barbie, Blue Beetle fails to make an impact

Blue Beetle's opening numbers, despite beating Barbie domestically, still happens to be surprisingly low. As a matter of fact, the film has had one of the lowest openings across films part of the DC Extended Universe. This is not good news for the film which was supposed to be a major milestone in Latin representation. Not just the tropical storm but other factors like the SAG-AFTRA strike which has disallowed promotions of any kind, has also impacted the film's earnings.