‘Barbie’ breaks out of box, into record books
Gerwig film making impact in real world as ‘watershed event’
It’s a Barbie world, box-office data confirm.
In its opening weekend, “Barbie” drew hordes of moviegoers — donning every shade of pink imaginable — to theaters. Promising 114 minutes of laughs, pop culture references and glitzy dance numbers, the film was projected by critics (and TikTok users alike) to take the world by storm.
It has now ballooned into a billion-dollar hit and the biggest movie of the year worldwide. With the movie’s debut recently on digital, it’s sure to score more milestones.
“Barbie” is a “cinematic, box-office and cultural watershed event that will be written about and talked about for years to come,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times.
Here are just some of the records the movie has broken so far.
Highest grossing film of 2023 in the U.S. and worldwide
On Sept. 2, “Barbie” became the highest grossing movie of the year worldwide, surpassing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $1.36 billion, per Comscore data and Warner Bros. representatives. It had taken the crown for biggest domestic release Aug. 24.
“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,” Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, said in an email to the Los Angeles Times last month. “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.”
As of its digital release, the movie has grossed north of $620 million domestically and $1.4 billion worldwide.
Most successful global and domestic release in Warner Bros. history
For 12 years, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” reigned as Warner Bros.’ highest
earning movie globally of all time. On Aug. 28, “Barbie” surpassed the franchise film, grossing more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
Dethroning 2008’s “The Dark Knight” ($535.9 million), “Barbie” was crowned the studio’s top-grossing domestic film on Aug. 16. As of late, it had earned more than $620.7 million domestically.
Biggest opening weekend of the year
“Barbie” hauled in $155 million domestically — almost twice as much as “Oppenheimer” — in its opening weekend, the biggest debut of the year.
Top global and domestic opening weeks of 2023
“Barbie” also danced
its way to the biggest global ($578.7 million) and domestic ($258.4 million) opening weeks of 2023. Both titles were previously held by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Highest grossing opening week for Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling
The film’s $578.7 million opening week far eclipsed the previous personal records for director Greta Gerwig, $45 million for 2019’s “Little Women”; Margot Robbie, $362.9 million for 2016’s “Suicide Squad”; and Ryan Gosling, $114.5 million for 2017’s “Blade Runner 2049.”
Largest global opening for a female-directed movie
Previously held by 2019’s “Captain Marvel” ($570.7 million), “Barbie” took the title of the highest grossing global opening for a movie directed by a woman. “Captain Marvel” had dual directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
Biggest domestic opening for a film based on a toy
The first of a string of upcoming movies from Mattel’s film division, Mattel Films, “Barbie” had the biggest opening for a picture based on a toy. The title was previously held by 2011’s “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” ($115.9 million), per Warner Bros.
Highest grossing Warner Bros. opening for a nonfranchise movie
“Barbie” surpassed 2017’s “IT” ($123 million domestic) as the studio’s highest grossing opening for a nonfranchise movie. Half of the top box-office openings of all time belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, per Box Office Mojo.
Tie for fastest Warner Bros. film to hit $1 billion
At 17 days, “Barbie” tied the studio record for the fastest time to hit $1 billion globally, matching 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.” Studio executives have nicknamed the box-office milestone “Barbillion,” Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution at Warner Bros., told Variety.
with a $1 billion movie
“Barbillion” also makes Gerwig the only solo female director to have a movie reach the billion-dollar mark. Only 28 directors in Hollywood history have had the sole directing credit on a billion-dollar movie — and they’re all men (most made male-oriented and franchise-driven films).
A handful of other women have shared credit for directing movies that collected more than $1 billion, including “Frozen II” co-director Jennifer Lee.
Highest earning live-action movie globally from a female director
“Barbie” has grossed $1.4 billion globally, the highest global haul for a live-action movie from a female director, according to Comscore. By the end of its box-office run, it’s likely to surpass “Frozen II” ($1.45 billion) and become the top-earning movie worldwide from a female director.
Biggest domestic release from a female director
While “Frozen II” still holds the global record for a female-directed movie, “Barbie” is officially the highest grossing domestic film by a female director ($620.7 million), according to Warner Bros.
Highest grossing Warner Bros. title globally
Barbie is Warner Bros.’ highest grossing title of all time globally, eclipsing the lifetime grosses of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” per Comscore data.
Fourth $300 million-plus weekend
Co-leading the weekend with partner-in-crime “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” fueled the fourth $300 million-plus overall weekend in history, with the films playing July 21-23 collectively generating a whopping $311.3 million, according to Comscore data.
Highest grossing second weekend globally in Warner Bros. history
Living up to and beyond the hype, “Barbie” raked in an additional $220 million globally in its second weekend, triumphing over 2019’s “Joker” ($181.2 million in its sophomore frame), Warner Bros. reported.