“Barbenheimer” sensation gives Lighthouse Cinema biggest-ever weekend

The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon has translated into an incredible weekend of box office action for Dublin cinemas. 

Barbie took in just shy of €2.1 million across Irish cinemas, while Oppenheimer grossed €1.1 million, marking a thumping return to form for cinemas.

The unlikely feature, combining the Margot Robbie-starring adaptation of the beloved Barbie range of dolls, and the Oscar-tipped Cillian Murphy World War 2 drama, has resulted in the biggest-ever weekend for the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield.

Last year’s biggest opening weekend was The Batman, which earned €1.3 million during its opening weekend in March last year.

In an Instagram post, the Lighthouse confirmed that this weekend was the busiest weekend in its 11 years of business.

The post said, “it would have not been possible without the commitment and energy that everyone brought to the weekend.”

6,418 fans caught a film the Lighthouse across the weekend, while the Lighthouse’s sister cinema in Galway, Pálás, saw 2,623 admissions.

Alice Black, Head of Film Programming at Light House, said “the sense of occasion was palpable in both our cinemas this weekend. This weekend reminded everyone of the pure joy of going to the movies”.

“Whether it was staying up past midnight to see the first 35mm Oppenheimer or getting up at 8am for a Barbie breakfast or digging something pink out of the back of the closet, our customers and staff embraced these two films with gusto,” Black said.

70MM screenings of Oppenheimer were sold out across the weekend at the Irish Film Institute at Temple Bar, with the screenings notable for being the only cinema in Ireland capable of projecting the film in that format.

Both films blew past box office projections at the American box office, with the Greta Gerwig-directed comedy raking in more than $150 million dollars in its first weekend and Christopher Nolan’s three-hour epic grossing $93 million.

Social media has been abuzz in recent weeks with the two films going head-to-head at the box office, with widely-reported sightings of people donning pink to show their support for Barbie or wearing pork pie hats to show their support for Oppenheimer.