Box Office: ‘Blue Beetle’ Barely Buzzing Past ‘Barbie’ After $10 Million Opening Day, ‘Strays’ Looking Hangdog

After four weekends of pink, the box office is going blue. Despite a muted opening, DC Studios Blue Beetle looks to dethrone fellow Warner Bros. release Barbie after the hot-pink comedy spent nearly a month atop domestic charts.

Debuting in 3,871 locations, the ngel Manuel Soto-directed Blue Beetle earned $10 million on its opening day, a figure that includes $3.3 million from previews. Its not a dazzling figure for the superhero entry, which had forecast a touchdown between $25 million and $33 million heading into the weekend. The films debut looks to fall behind that of this years earlier DC entry Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which debuted to $30.1 million before collapsing for a $57.6 million finish.

The Shazam! sequel was universally regarded as a disappointment mediocre reviews, plus a final gross totaling roughly one third of the originals and it marked an inauspicious start for the last slate of DC Studios titles before the comic book banner reboots its continuity with James Gunns Superman: Legacy. While Fury of the Gods isnt exactly a flattering comparison for Blue Beetle, its own box office performance comes with some unique caveats. Its not a sequel for one, instead a feature debut for a new character. More notably, though the film cost about $104 million to produce, it was also originally commissioned for a streaming debut on Max (ne HBO Max). By pivoting to a theatrical run, Blue Beetle is already selling more tickets than it wouldve through an immediate digital release.

Buzz is also stronger for Blue Beetle, compared to this years DC disappointments Shazam! 2 and The Flash. The superhero entry holds a 70% approval rating from top critics on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with praise highlighting star Xolo Mariduea and the films focus on Latino characters. Audiences who did roll out are leaning positive, with research firm Cinema Score assigning a B+ grade after surveying the first round of moviegoers. Blue Beetle isnt playing like a box office success out of the gate, but the dog days of summer blockbuster season have certainly yielded more dire narratives before.

Speaking of dog days, Universals raunchy Strays is headed for a muted debut with around $9.5 million enough for fourth place on domestic charts. Opening in 3,223 theaters, the canine comedy, directed by Josh Greenbaum, is faring slightly better than recent genre disappointments like The Machine and Joy Ride, but pacing behind breakout titles like No Hard Feelings and Cocaine Bear.

With a production budget of $46 million, Strays will hope to sit and stay and not play dead in theaters to prove itself a worthwhile investment. Reviews have been middling, with a 53% from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but audience opinion seems to be higher (a B+ grade on Cinema Score).

After four weekends as box office queen, Warner Bros. Barbie looks to finally fall to runner-up status in its fifth outing. The Greta Gerwig-directed comedy is looking fabulous after grossing $6 million on Friday, only 40% down from last week. The total domestic gross has now pushed beyond $550 million, with plenty of fuel left in the tank as the summer winds down. Within the next few days, Barbie should surpass The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($574 million) to become the top-earning North American release of the year.

Universals Oppenheimer is also putting up a strong hold, despite Blue Beetle snagging a large number of Imax auditoriums, which have been a massive boon for business for Christopher Nolans epic-length biopic. The feature is expected to fall 42% in its fifth weekend of release, pushing its domestic haul to $285 million. Soon enough, the grim, talky R-rated drama will pass The Little Mermaid ($297 million) to become one of the top five highest-earning domestic releases of the year.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is rounding out the top five, projecting a modest 43% drop for an $8.7 million haul in its third weekend. The animated feature continues to show staying power, looking to push its domestic total to $88 million through Sunday.