Barbie Edges Out Gran Turismo at Box Office: The Surprising Twist that Saved the Day
Gran Turismo races to victory, claiming the top spot at the box office with an exhilarating performance
Summary
Gran Turismo narrowly beat Barbie at the box office in its opening weekend, earning $17.3 million.
Gran Turismo faced a delay in its initial release date as a result of strikes. Nevertheless, the film employed exclusive screenings to garner interest and provoke positive reactions.
Nonetheless, the earnings from these exclusive screenings have been incorporated within its debut box office figures, sparking controversy regarding the methodology of tallying box office revenues.
Gran Turismo has emerged as the winner of the box office race in its debut weekend, narrowly surpassing Barbie for the top position. Based on the popular video game and inspired by the real-life success story of a player turned professional race car driver, Gran Turismo was originally slated for release on August 11. However, due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Sony postponed the release to August 25.
To compensate for the inability of its stars, including David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, and lead actor Archie Madekwe, to promote the film, Sony organized special screenings in the weeks leading up to the new release date. By leveraging the generally positive reactions and word-of-mouth promotion generated by these screenings, the studio successfully generated interest in the film.
The strategy paid off, with Gran Turismo reportedly claiming the top spot at the domestic box office. The Hollywood Reporter states that the movie earned $17.3 million in its opening weekend, narrowly surpassing Barbie, which earned $17.1 million in its sixth weekend. However, controversy surrounds these figures, as Gran Turismo's opening grosses allegedly include the $3.9 million earned during the early screenings. Although it is not uncommon for studios to include earnings from early screenings in their opening weekend figures, it is evident that Barbie would have emerged as the weekend winner if these screenings were not factored in.
As final box office numbers from Sunday, which is also National Cinema Day and is expected to attract a surge in movie-goers due to special $4 ticket prices, are tallied on Monday morning, there is a possibility that Barbie may regain the lead.
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Source: THR
