‘Gran Turismo’ Takes Weekend Box Office Crown Over ‘Barbie’ After All
29.08.2023 - 10:59
/ etcanada.com
The box office results are in and Sony’s racing movie “Gran Turismo” won the weekend over “Barbie”, after all.
On Sunday, “Gran Turismo” appeared to be neck-and-neck with Warner Bros.’ “Barbie”, now in its sixth weekend, with both hovering just over $17 million. But Monday actuals reported by the studios provided a clear winner: “Gran Turismo” ended up with $17.4 million from North American theatres against “Barbie”‘s $15.1 million.
As is usually the case with new wide releases, “Gran Turismo”‘s total also included earnings from Thursday night pre-shows ($1.4 million). More unconventionally, however, Sony also factored in $3.9 million from other preview screenings (or “sneaks”) held before Thursday — a less commonly used but still standard practice.
READ MORE: Barbie Hits $1.34 Billion, Set To Become Warner Bros.’ Biggest Movie Ever
“Gran Turismo” was originally set for a wide release on Aug. 11, but with actors unable to help promote the film as the actors strike stretches on, Sony pivoted and instead opted for limited preview screenings and fan events for two weeks, leading up to a national rollout this past weekend.
It was an unusual weekend in multiplexes. Canada and U.S. movie theatres held the second annual National Cinema Day on Sunday, offering as low as $4 tickets to all films and showtimes at more than 3,000 participating Cineplex locations with more than 30,000 screens across North America. This might have been part of the reason why the Sunday estimate for “Barbie” was perhaps a bit too bullish at $7.75 million, compared to its actual Sunday total of $5.7 million.
Cineplex movie theatres across North America welcomed nearly 700,000 guests on Sunday, in celebration of National Cinema Day, a 25% increase