'Barbie' breaks ground with ₦39M, 'Òrìṣà' beats 'Oppenheimer' with ₦27M

<p>It was a tough battle, but Nigerians chose the iconic doll over a deity and Nolan's destroyer.</p>, <span>Oppenheimer, Barbie and Òrìṣà have all debuted in Nigerian cinemas on July 21, 2023</span>, <h2>Over the weekend, Nigerian audiences witnessed a huge movie battle at the box office.</h2>, <p>Greta Gerwig’s ridiculously pink Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s bleak historical drama Oppenheimer, and Odunlade Adekola's Òrìṣà (#OrisaBarbieHeimer) debuted all at once on Friday, July 21, 2023, making for an epic showdown.</p>, <p>The first two seemingly had the upper hand, backed by global campaigns and the luxury of being cultural touchstones, while the local production appeared to be overshadowed by the Barbenheimer noise.</p>, <p>However, the recently released figures by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) say differently. Data from ticket sales on July 21–23, 2023, show that the domestic audience went all out for the beloved doll and Yoruba epic over Nolan's dark tragedy.</p>, <p>Barbie opened with ₦39 million, while Òrìṣà surprisingly surpassed Oppenheimer with ₦27. 58 million. The latter came in at fourth place with only ₦17 million.</p>, <img src="https://cdn-fmcrawler.shalltry.com/public/prod/files/images/2023-07-26/original/6e3ca760-c378-479d-baeb-5ca3f189a3ba.jpg">, <span>Nigerians chose the iconic doll over a deity and Nolan's destroyer CEAN</span>, <p>Barbie's success comes as no surprise to anyone, with pink being the rave of the moment thanks to an all-out marketing campaign in Nigeria complete with a beach party, a fancy brunch event, a slumber party and a July 20 premiere.</p>, <p>Òrìṣà also made and continues to make an effort with a great premiere in Lagos, followed by smaller ones in nearby Yoruba cities.</p>, <p>The producer and members of the cast have also been organising meet-and-greets in Osogbo, Illorin, Ibadan, Abeokuta, and other parts of Lagos.</p>, <p>These have all paid off, as the indigenous title is now the highest-grossing opening film in Nollywood and the biggest epic o