'Barbenheimer' had incredible box office momentum in its first week

It was an explosive week for "Barbenheimer," with the atomic bomb and the atomic blond working hand in plastic hand to deliver box office dynamite. In their first week in domestic theaters, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" grossed more than $368 million combined.

Greta Gerwig's dazzling doll surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars, with a stunning $258 million, according to Warner Bros., which produced the movie. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

It stayed No. 1 throughout the week, nabbing an average of $24 million each day. On Friday, that number jumped to $29 million.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan's existential biopic grossed some $128 million. It averaged $11 million per weekday, according to media analytics company Comscore, with $13.4 million on Friday.

Observers say both films are defying box office gravity, even after a blowout opening weekend.

"Movies tend to drop off significantly midweek once that opening weekend interest is satisfied. But this midweek for both movies played almost like a weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

The numbers spell out continued interest in the films and solidify Barbenheimer's status as a cultural sensation.

"The strongest measure of a film's success is the second weekend," said Dergarabedian.

Over this weekend, analysts project about $94 million for "Barbie" and $46 million for "Oppenheimer."

"Even if that was the opening weekend, these would still be great numbers," he added.

"Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are generating record-breaking second weekend presales, according to The Boxoffice Company, which powers show times and ticketing for Google, TikTok, IMDb and Apple.

Barbenheimer is also going toe to toe with big superhero flicks, with some analysts saying this weekend is shaping up to be one of the best holdover weekends since 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."

The company has more than 150 theater partners who also reported that this week was their best in domestic sales since "Spider-Man: No Way Home" debuted December 17-23, 2021.

With "Barbenheimer," audience excitement for each film has propped up the other. Not only was it a great week for movie theaters, according to Dergarabedian, but this pop culture moment will be studied in film, business and marketing for years to come.