The rules have changed.
Yes, thats a record for a woman-directed film, surpassingCaptain Marvels $153 million in 2019.
The result is a movie that also opened at $337 million globally.
Meanwhile,Oppenheimeris off to a rousing $174 million worldwide start.
Its also an overdue opportunity for Hollywood to begin some serious self-reflection on its old conventional thinking.
NeitherBarbieorOppenheimeris technically a totally unknown property.
However, it isnt what they are which is striking; its what they are not.
3andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, both superhero movies and both sequels.
This weekend should sound like the penny dropping.
Audiences want new things, and they especially respond to them if theyre donewell.
Fury of the Gods, andThe Flashflopping back-to-back-to-back.
Even the once invincible Marvel Studios has lost some of its airtight hold on audiences.
Moviegoers no longer feel compelled to see them all so you can follow the story.
Theyll show up for Guardians or Spidey, but folks have no issue now about skipping the latest Ant-Man.
It seems the corporate logic of safe and familiar is now hitting a wall.
And it should be noted that Universal and WB recognized this to a certain degree.
Yet they marketed it like a summer blockbuster, and now it is one.
Of course it could be easy to learn the wrong lessons from these box office performances.
They may also want to reconsider their claims that theycant meet the demands to pay writers and actors fairly.
