“Barbie” made history this month by reaching $1 billion in global box office sales, becoming the first film solely directed by a woman to do so and completing the prophecy of the “one Barbillion dollars” meme.
The film hit this milestone just 17 days after its July 21 release. Of that immense pile of money, $459 million is from North American ticket sales, while $572 million was made overseas. It is the fastest-selling film in Warner Bros. history to reach 1 billion, a title previously held by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” and is the studio’s second-highest grosser of all time after the same.
“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,” Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps stated in a press release. Goldstein is Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution; Cripps is president of international distribution.
And the ‘Barbie’ train has yet to slow down for anyone, keeping the No. 1 spot at the box office for its fourth consecutive week at an estimated $33.7 million in ticket sales for this past weekend, nearly twice that of its closest competition – which happens to be its release twin “Oppenheimer,” also chugging along at $18.8 million. It’s a hard-earned figure, between the memetic hype of “Barbenheimer,” stellar critical acclaim and audience adoration.
Time will tell if this momentum is Kenough to dethrone Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which is currently 2023’s highest-grossing film at $1.358 billion globally.
Even if it doesn’t, “Barbie” will leave the box office as a cinematic event to remember. Mattel certainly won’t let audiences forget it, as the toy company eyes its own cinematic universe with films for 14 of their properties now in development, including “Polly Pocket,” “Hot Wheels” and “a PG-13 thriller” based on the Magic 8 Ball.
