Two weeks after release, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is part of the billion-dollar club.
The toy film starring Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, and Ryan Gosling finally crossed the threshold today. Per Variety, the film has now crossed the massive milestone, making it the first movie directed by a woman to do so. It’s also presently the only summer movie of 2023 to make over $US1 billion, and the second film of the year overall behind April’s Super Mario Bros. Movie.) That number is definitely going to grow in the coming weeks; though movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and The Meg 2: The Trench are now in theaters, it’s very likely that Barbie (and potentially its BFF Oppenheimer, from Christopher Nolan) will continue to dominate.
Prior to its late July release, Barbie had a lot of hype behind it. It wasn’t just that it became a film event thanks to its mismatched pairing with Oppenheimer, it was consistently (and loudly) marketed and looked unlike any other summer blockbuster within the last several years. Folks have been going to see this thing in droves, and have largely liked it. Its success hasn’t come without some controversy, though: earlier in the week, the movie garnered criticism in Japan for being too associated with Oppenheimer, to the point that WB’s Japan division publicly called out its American counterpart for getting in on the Barbenheimer memes.
By year’s end, it seems likely the movie will be a big part of awards season (or at least part of the award-season discussion). And Mattel’s already got eyes on both a possible sequel (sans Gerwig, at least presently), and a larger universe based on other toys in its lineup. Whether those movies actually happen is up for debate, but for the moment, we’re in a Barbie (and also Ken) world.
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