The movie has been dubbed Barbillion by studio bosses
Barbie has broken the financial glass ceiling, hitting the billion-dollar club.
Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster which hit cinemas on July 21, Variety reported, surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, including $459 million in North America and $572 million internationally over the weekend.
The milestone makes Gerwig the first-ever solo female filmmaker with a billion-dollar film.
Three other women have broken into the billion-dollar club, but only as co-directors, Variety noted. Frozen ($1.3 billion) and Frozen 2 ($1.45 billion) by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, as well as Captain Marvel ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
Barbie, Variety said, hit one billion just 17 days of release, becoming the fastest Warner Bros. release (and eighth in the studio’s 100-year history) to do so. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 previously held that record at 19 days.
It is also only the second movie this year, and the sixth of the pandemic-era to cross $1 billion, following Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and Avatar: The Way of Water.
As well as being a huge success, the movie has stirred up a lot of unease among right-leaning men who have – while trying to get it cancelled – only publicised it further. Ben Shapiro was so upset by Barbie he posted a 43-minute rant and set fire to dolls, and Piers Morgan said it was based “demonstrable lie.”
Warner Bros president of domestic distribution said the billion-dollar club is “a good club to be in”, Variety reported.
In a note to press, Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, admitted they are not often “rendered speechless by a film’s performance.”
But Barbillion — as they’ve dubbed the box office milestone — has “blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water.”
“This is a watershed moment for ‘Barbie,’ and no one but Greta Gerwig could have brought this cross-generational icon and her world to life in such a funny, emotional and entertaining story, one that is resonating with all four quadrants of moviegoers and literally turning the entire world pink,” Goldstein and Cripps said in the joint statement.
“Long lines and repeat viewings prove that movies are back in a big, big way, and we look forward to seeing just how far ‘Barbie’ can go in the real world.”
Barbie has remained No. 1 at the box office for three consecutive weekends despite numerous big releases, such as Oppenheimer and is already the second-highest grossing movie of 2023, behind only Universal and Illumination’s, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned $574 million domestically and $1.35 billion worldwide.
Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated director of Lady Bird and Little Women, co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as the stereotypical versions of Barbie and Ken, who leave behind the Dreamhouse on a quest for self-discovery in the real world.
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