Barbie tops US$1 billion globally in first for solo woman director
- The blockbuster film ‘Barbie’ has topped US$1 billion in box office ticket sales worldwide since its July 21 debut
- Barbie writer and director Greta Gerwig is the first female filmmaker to surpass the billion-dollar benchmark as a solo director
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Hollywood’s pink wave has yet to crest as Warner Bros’ Barbie dominated for a third straight weekend in North American theatres, pushing the film’s global haul past US$1 billion in a first for a solo woman director, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
The Greta Gerwig-directed blockbuster has tapped into a cultural zeitgeist: not only did it make history by hitting the billion-dollar box office milestone, it also did so faster than any film – including those directed by men – in Warner Bros’ 100-year history, executives there said.
The film, which earlier scored the biggest opening weekend of the year, “has captured the imagination of film-goers around the world and the results are incredibly impressive,” analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore said.
Starring Margot Robbie as iconic doll Barbie and Ryan Gosling as boyfriend Ken, the movie earned a projected US$53 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, for a domestic total of US$459 million and a whopping US$1.03 billion worldwide.
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Co-written by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach, it follows Barbie as she contends with her woman-led, pink-plastered fantasy land becoming infected with real world problems, in a comic self-aware commentary on the dolls’ decades-old cultural significance.
A supporting cast including Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera add even more star power to the film, while its soundtrack includes new songs by chart toppers Dua Lipa, Lizzo and Nicki Minaj – as well as a surprise hit in “I’m Just Ken”, the power ballad sung in the film by Gosling.
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Barbie is only the sixth film to surpass US$1 billion at the box-office since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Variety.
Falling to third place was Universal’s Oppenheimer, the dark historical drama whose opening the same week as Barbie sparked the massive “Barbenheimer” social media trend.
It was bumped by Warner Bros newcomer Meg 2: The Trench, an action sequel in which Jason Statham tries to survive attacks by gargantuan prehistoric sharks.
Meg 2 pulled in US$30 million for the weekend, while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer earned US$28.7 million to push its global total to US$552 million.
