"Barbie" Shatters Box Office Records And Barriers
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
Barbie, one of this year's most anticipated releases, has more than lived up to its lofty expectations. The fantasy comedy has broken numerous records for Warner Bros. and Director Greta Gerwig since its July 21, 2023, premiere. And there is no end in sight!
The movie's opening weekend domestic ticket sales of $155 million secured its position as the highest-grossing debut of 2023. The record was previously held by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned $146.3 million during its first weekend.
Just 17 days after its release, Barbie reached a staggering $1 billion in global ticket sales. This is a new record for a Warner Bros. movie. The previous record-holder, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, achieved the feat after 19 days. As of August 20, 2023, Barbie has earned $1.2 billion, making it the second highest-grossing movie of 2023. It is outranked so far only by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which has earned over $1.35 billion worldwide.
Gerwig breaks barriers for other female directors
Gerwig, who directed and co-wrote Barbie, is no stranger to accolades. Lady Bird, her first movie as a solo director, earned five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Director in 2018. Gerwig's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women earned her another Oscar nod in 2020, this time for screenwriting.
However, Barbie's success has escalated her achievements to a new level. Gerwig is the first solo female director with a billion-dollar film. The previous billion-dollar blockbusters involving female leaders all had male co-directors. Frozen and Frozen II were a collaboration between Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Captain Marvel was the joint effort of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.
The brilliant director's mega-success could also help open doors for women in Hollywood. In 2022, only 11 percent of the top 100 films had female directors. Barbie's popularity could make movie studios finally realize that diverse talent is a win-win for both — publicity and profits!
Resources: Smithsonian.com, thedirect.com, collider.com, Yahoonews.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
134 Comments
toucanmorningsabout 1 monthThe Barbie Movie was not my favorite but still a wonderful movie!! I know everyone put slot of effort into making those costumes, sets, etc! I hope there will be more female directors out there because I honestly don't see too many of them.
ellie27102 monthsits a good enough movie. didnt love it but didnt hate it. i just loved that marogt robbie (barbie) is australian like me so...
1mass6 monthsThe Barbie movie is soooooooo good!
cocoz7 monthsNice. Wonder how many days it takes to build it in life size
joshlynn7 monthsIts so cool
loveicecream7 monthsI havint watched it yet but this weekend im going ro
i_like_cheer7 monthsYes same witch theaters are you going to?😍😍
orcaswiminspace8 monthsthats crazy how much money they made
jkbear8 monthsHavent watched this yet
bethanybeach9 monthsI love this movie it is great for kids but don't explain anything😅 this movie came out on my birthday!!!
marleydelyla139 monthsNah this movie is fire. So GOOD. Literally obsessed with I'm just ken and everythingggg
