Sony and Warner Bros. seem to be having a disagreement about whether the top movie at the box office last week was Gran Turismo or Barbie.
Warner Bros. claims that Barbie won the weekend for the sixth time, collecting $15.1 million over the previous Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. However, Sony, which produced David Harbor starring Gran Turismo, claims that the picture earned $17.4 million at the box office.
According to Variety, the point of contention revolves around the fact that the opening earnings for Gran Turismo encompass not only the $1.4 million from Thursday previews but also the $3.9 million collected from several weeks of special pre-show screenings. It’s common practice for studios to include Thursday preview earnings in their weekend totals, a fact that Warner Bros. doesn’t contest.
However, Sony’s interpretation of an opening weekend appears quite broad, as it incorporates earnings from extended pre-show screenings over multiple weeks. They got off to a slow start for a film based on a famous video game. The aim is that an A CinemaScore from moviegoers would offer a lift in the coming days.
