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\u00a0\u201cGran Turismo: Based on a True Story\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cBarbie\u201d<\/a>\u00a0are in a dead heat for the box-office crown, with the video game adaptation just edging Greta Gerwig\u2019s pop sensation, according to studio estimates Sunday.<\/p>\n Sony<\/a> Pictures reported that \u201cGran Turismo\u201d opened with $17.3 million over the weekend, while Warner Bros. estimated that \u201cBarbie,\u201d in its sixth week of release, took in $17.1 million. Those totals could change when final ticket sales are counted Monday.<\/p>\n Due to a few wrinkles, it\u2019s all but certain that \u201cBarbie\u201d sold more tickets than any other movie Friday through Sunday, even if \u201cGran Turismo\u201d is claiming the checker flag.<\/p>\n One reason: It was an usual weekend in multiplexes. U.S. movie theaters held\u00a0the second annual National Cinema Day<\/a>\u00a0on Sunday, with $4 tickets to all films and showtimes at nearly all of the country\u2019s theaters.<\/p>\n \u201cBarbie\u201d was expected to be easily the top draw during the discounted day, with a particular boost coming from repeat viewings. With a domestic total of $594.8 million in ticket sales, \u201cBarbie\u201d has passed\u00a0\u201cThe Super Mario Bros. Movie\u201d<\/a>\u00a0($574 million) to become the year\u2019s biggest domestic hit. With $1.34 billion worldwide, \u201cBarbie\u201d will also soon surpass the leading $1.35 million worldwide tally of \u201cMario.\u201d<\/p>\n National Cinema Day is meant to lure moviegoers to theaters during a typically slow period \u2014 and recoup the lost ticket revenue by selling a lot of popcorn. Last year\u2019s event drew\u00a08.1 million moviegoers,<\/a>\u00a0making it the busiest day of the year in theaters. Warner Bros. estimated that \u201cBarbie\u201d would gross $7.8 million on Sunday, which would mean almost 2 million people saw the film that day.<\/p>\n So what was the top movie in theaters this weekend?<\/p>\n \u201cBarbie,\u201d says Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. \u201cWithout any question.\u201d<\/p>\n Though \u201cBarbie\u201d is the weekend\u2019s top draw, \u201cGran Turismo\u201d has a slight \u2014 and somewhat debatable \u2014 edge in gross earnings. In its weekend totals for \u201cGran Turismo,\u201d Sony is also factoring in a hefty $3.9 million from preview screenings held before Thursday, along with $1.4 million in Thursday previews. Such accounting, while common practice for Hollywood, has stretched the definition of an opening \u201cweekend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made a big issue of it only because \u2018Barbie\u2019 has had incredible holds,\u201d says Goldstein. \u201cTo take away the number one, which would make it five weekends at number one since it opened, kind of doesn\u2019t feel right for the \u2018Barbie\u2019 filmmakers who really deserve the accolades.\u201d<\/p>\n Sony executives declined to comment.<\/p>\n Either way, it\u2019s a so-so start for \u201cGran Turismo,\u201d which cost about $60 million to make. But the film, about a young man whose love of the PlayStation video game helps turn him into a real-life racer, has gone over well with audiences. Moviegoers gave the Neill Blomkamp-directed movie an \u201cA\u201d CinemaScore.<\/p>\n The ongoing strike by actors and screenwriters has taken away the studios\u2019 ability to promote films with their casts. To help spread the word on \u201cGran Turismo,\u201d Sony held several weeks of preview screenings and fan events.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, every movie is in pursuit of being the number one film,\u201d says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. \u201cBut at the end of the day, \u2018Barbie\u2019 is just an out-and-out smash global blockbuster. No matter how you slice it, \u2018Barbie\u2019 is always going to be a winner no matter the outcome of this weekend. Sony, left without stars to go out and promote the movie, had to rely on the audience becoming the marketing voice.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s top film, the DC Comics release\u00a0\u201cBlue Beetle,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0slid to third place in its second week, with $12.8 million. The Warner Bros. film has made $46.3 million in two weeks, making it another misfire for DC.<\/p>\n Christopher Nolan\u2019s\u00a0\u201cOppenheimer\u201d<\/a>\u00a0trailed in fourth, with $9 million in its sixth week. Like its\u00a0\u201cBarbenheimer\u201d<\/a>\u00a0sibling, the Universal<\/a> Pictures release has played remarkably well beyond the point at which most films fall off in theaters. \u201cOppenheimer\u201d has passed $300 million domestically and reached $777.1 million globally.<\/p>\n\n