'Blue Beetle' Box Office Hits Barbie, Strays Need a Higher Bark

That was going to happen at some point. After dominating the box office for four weekends, Barbie He drops to second place in the DC superhero picture blue beetle Leading.

blue beetle It’s on track to open to between $25 million and $27 million in North America after earning $10 million on Friday, including $3.3 million in previews. It remains to be seen what effect the looming tropical storm will have on earnings in Los Angeles, the movie’s biggest market, and other parts of Southern California.

It’s understandable why the superhero image feels a bit blue. Not only blue beetle It came in behind expectations — heading into the weekend, suggested tracking from $28 million to $32 million — it’s looking at one of the lowest openings ever for a title in the DC Extended Universe, non-adjusted for inflation.

Director Angel Manuel Soto blue beetle is the first Hollywood superhero movie created around a Latino hero and hopes to be a great movie for Latino audiences and for Latino representation in front of and behind the camera. Xolo Maridueña stars opposite Adriana Barraza, Damian Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Harvey Guillén, and Becky G.

And according to polling service PostTrak, 40 percent of Friday ticket buyers were Latino (usually, it might be 30 percent).

blue beetleThe launch of SAG-AFTRA was hampered by the SAG-AFTRA strike, which meant that Soto’s team was unable to participate in the publicity tour. In terms of audience reaction and pilot crashes, it earned a B+ CinemaScore, and was played overwhelmingly by males (66 percent).

Barbie Its fifth weekend total grossed from $20 million to $21 million or more in North America, followed closely by Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer In third place with $11 million. from universal, Oppenheimer It would hit another major milestone this weekend when it crossed $700 million globally to become Nolan’s fourth biggest movie of all time.

Bad Dogs Comedy from Universal stress Pace Open to $8.5 Million Less Bark, Putting Pic in Close Battle with Paramount Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mayhem for fourth place.

stress, which also earned a B+ CinemaScore, is the latest in a string of R-rated summer comedies to flop at the box office. The star-studded voice cast includes Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, and Josh Gad. is similar to blue beetleThe pic was unable to include the voice actors in publicity plans.

The numbers will be updated Sunday morning.