Blue Beetle squashes Barbie , tops box office with slightly buzzy $25M opening weekend
After four weeks perched at the top of the box office, Barbie is stepping down, its reign coming to an anticlimactic end as DC's Blue Beetle hit No. 1 this weekend, raking in $25.4 million, per Comscore. Internationally, the caped caper earned an additional $18 million, for a global total of $43.4 million.
Featuring one of DC's lesser-known superheroes, the film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, stars Xolo Maridueña, playing the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes.
In the movie, recent college grad Jaime returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches for his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly discovers an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab.
Warner Bros. Pictures Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes in 'Blue Beetle'
"With this movie, really what we wanted to highlight was Jaime's story and the Reyes family's story," Maridueña recently told EW. "But my heart is already so fulfilled with this movie. If we do 20 of these movies and 40 cameos or if it's just this one, what's most exciting to me is the opportunity for people to see it and have little kids everywhere saying, 'Oh my gosh, this guy looks like me. I can be a hero, too.'"
In the fifth blockbuster week of its release, Barbie wasn't that far behind Blue Beetle, racking up $21.5 million for a domestic gross of $567.3 million ($1.3 billion globally). Oppenheimer took third place with $10.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $285.2 million ($717.8 million globally).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem secured the fourth spot this weekend, with those heroes in a half shell powering their way to $8.4 million in the movie's third week of release. So far, the TMNT reboot has earned $88.1 million domestically and $118.4 million globally.
Universal Studios Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) in 'Strays'
Meanwhile, Strays, a.k.a. the R-rated Homeward Bound for the TikTok generation, opened to $8.3 million. The raunchy comedy, produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, has an all-star voice cast that includes Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, and Randall Park.
"It's a movie that's very smart about being silly," Lord told EW. "It's written by Dan Perrault, who we've always admired from the show American Vandal. The movie really goes there, and it takes a big swing, but it's also very big-hearted and warm. You get the sense that the movie's friendly, even though it's very naughty."
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