In terms of pre-ticket sales, Barbie is the highest grossing movie since Avatar: The Way Of Water. According to the Box Office Company (via Deadline), Barbie is outrunning every other movie so far this year. For reference, The Way of Water debuted to $134 million. This weekend will be the third time this year that domestic weekend box office will gross a total over $200 million.

　　In addition, over 200,000 moviegoers are projected to attend screenings of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. AMC previously reported that over 40,000 of the theater chain's Stubs members have purchased tickets for both movies on the same day, up from prior numbers disclosed in June.

　　Previous projections put Barbie at $80 million domestic gross, outpacing Oppenheimer's projections by twofold. In the meantime, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning broke global records, earning $235 million over five days.

　　In other movie news, Barbie director Greta Gerwig has signed a deal with Netflix to write and direct at least two The Chronicles of Narnia films. SAG-AFTRA members are now on strike for the first time since 1980. On June 14, Oppenheimer cast members left the premiere of the film in London to begin picketing. Multiple movies, including Deadpool 3 and Gladiator 2, have paused filming.

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