The smash hit films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were the top two theatrical releases in Ireland in 2023 based on box office revenue, according to the Irish Film Classification Office's (IFCO) annual report . “Barbie," the Greta Gerwig flick starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, enjoyed a total gross of €9,934,084 last year, while runner-up “Oppenheimer," the Cillian Murphy -fronted film from Christopher Nolan, snagged €6,428,777. Together, the 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon - which erupted when the two highly-anticipated films arrived in theaters on the same day last summer - brought in a whopping €16,362,861.
Rounding out the top five were “The Super Mario Bros Movie” with €5,168,926, “Wonka” with €3,997,181, and “Spider-Man: Across the Universe” with €3,188,204. Overall, Ireland's total box office revenue in 2023 was €101 million, up 10% on 2022 figures. Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! IFCO said in its annual report that classified a total of 1,134 theatrical works in 2023, including feature films, short films, and cinema trailers.
While feature films (512) and shorts (17) were up 4% on 2019 figures, there was an 8.3% drop in the number of trailers submitted for classification (605). This coincided with the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike.
Overall, the number of theatrical works classified last in 2023 was almost back to the 2019 pre-pandemic peak of 1,169. IFCO said that films originating in the US (28%) .
