At a glance, the notion of the penultimate DC Extended Universe film Blue Beetle topping the Greta Gerwig masterclass Barbie at the box office is one you’d get laughed out of the room for; indeed, Barbie‘s billion-dollar box office reign still going strong combined with the infamously dire straits of Blue Beetle‘s marketing makes for what sounds like an impossible scenario.
And maybe a week or two ago, that scenario might have held true. However, as Barbie enters its fourth week at the box office, the time for David to overcome Goliath is nigh, and Blue Beetle is primed to take advantage. Per Deadline, the Xolo Maridueña-led superhero flick is on course for an opening weekend gross as high as $32 million, while Barbie‘s hot streak is set to cool off a bit with a $22-$24 million weekend projection.
Regardless of whether or not this prophecy unfolds as written, the simple event of Blue Beetle hitting such a goal will make for a heartwarming success story; ever since the Blue Beetle Battalion – a pack of superfans who took it upon themselves to drum up the hype that Warner Bros. neglected to give the film – stepped into the fray, the superhero flick’s box office predictions quite literally tripled in the blink of an eye.
They may pale in comparison to the power of the Barbenheimer meme, but the Battalion’s grassroots efforts to launch the first-ever Latino-led superhero movie as high as it can go just might be the single most charming development to ever come out of the DCEU; hopefully Blue Beetle itself can return the favor by being one of the most substantial entries the franchise will ever see.
Blue Beetle checks into theaters on Aug. 18.