"Barbie" Hits $1 Billion Globally After 17 Days of Release

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, including $459 million in North America and $572 million internationally. 

This makes Gerwig the first-ever solo female filmmaker with a billion-dollar movie. Three other billion-dollar blockbusters were co-directed by women, including “Frozen” ($1.3 billion) and “Frozen 2” ($1.45 billion) both co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, as well as “Captain Marvel” ($1.1 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

The pink-coated fantasy comedy is hitting the coveted milestone after just 17 days of release, becoming the fastest Warner Bros. release (and eighth in the studio’s 100-year history) to join the $1 billion club. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” previously held that record at 19 days.

It’s only the second blockbuster this year and the sixth of the pandemic era to cross $1 billion, following “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Jurassic World Dominion”, and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

“It’s a good club to be in,” Jeff Goldstein, the studio’s president of domestic distribution, said during a Sunday morning phone call.

In a note to the press, Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, admitted they are not often “rendered speechless by a film’s performance.” But Barbillion — as they’ve dubbed the box office milestone — has “blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water.”

“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,” Goldstein and Cripps said in the joint statement. 

“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.”

Thanks to zeitgeist-smashing buzz, “Barbie” has remained No. 1 at the box office for three consecutive weekends — and that’s despite competition from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” “Meg 2: The Trench” and “Oppenheimer”. 

It’s already the second-highest-grossing movie of 2023, behind only Universal and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which earned $574 million domestically and $1.35 billion worldwide.

The rapturously reviewed “Barbie” opened on July 21 and smashed expectations with its $155 million domestic debut, ranking as the biggest opening weekend of 2023, as well as the best start for a movie directed by a woman. 

It arrived as a full-fledged phenomenon, thanks to the marketing campaign of the year and stellar word-of-mouth to match. There was also hype from “Barbenheimer,” the nickname for the twin release date with Christopher Nolan’s dark historical drama “Oppenheimer.”

Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated director of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach. 

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as the stereotypical versions of Barbie and Ken, who leave behind the Dreamhouse on a quest for self-discovery in the real world. Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, John Cena, and Will Ferrell round out the cast.

“A massive achievement like this is possible when you have an incredible filmmaking team, with cast and crew coming together to create a truly special moviegoing experience,” Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. 

“Greta now joins an elite group of writer-directors whose singular vision has generated $1 billion at the global box office, a milestone that is testament to her brilliance and to her commitment to deliver a movie that Barbie fans of every age want to see on the big screen.”