Greta Gerwig should be feeling closer to fine these days. In just three weeks in theatres, Barbie is set to sail past $US1 billion (approx. $1.52 billion) in global ticket sales, breaking a record for female directors that was previously held by Patty Jenkins, who helmed Wonder Woman.
Barbie, which Gerwig directed and co-wrote, added another $US53 million (approx. $80.5 million) from 4178 North American locations this weekend and $US74 million (approx. $112.4 million) internationally, bringing its global total to $US1.03 billion (approx. $1.56 billion), according to studio estimates on Sunday (overnight in Australia).
The Margot Robbie-led and produced film – the Aussie star was integral to the film being green-lit in the first place – has been comfortably seated in first place for three weeks and it’s hardly finished yet. It crossed $US400 million (approx. $607 million) domestic and $500 million (approx. $760 million) internationally faster than any other movie at the studio, including the Harry Potter films.
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“As distribution chiefs, we’re not often rendered speechless by a film’s performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic predictions out of the water,” said Jeff Goldstein and Andrew Cripps, who oversee domestic and international distribution for the studio, in a joint statement.
In modern box office history, just 53 movies have made over $US1 billion, not accounting for inflation, and Barbie is now the biggest to be directed by one woman, supplanting Wonder Woman‘s $US821.8 million (approx. $1.25 billion) global total.
Three movies that were co-directed by women are still ahead of Barbie, including Frozen ($US1.3 billion, approx. $2 billion) and Frozen 2 ($US1.45 billion, approx. $2.2 billion) both co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Captain Marvel ($US1.1 billion, approx. $1.7 billion), co-directed by Anna Boden.
But, Barbie has passed Captain Marvel domestically in the United States with $US459.4 million (approx. $698 million) versus $US426.8 million (approx. $648 million), thereby claiming the North American record for live-action movies directed by women.
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Warner Bros. co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy also praised Gerwig in a statement and said the milestone “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.”
Oppenheimer also celebrated a landmark, crossing $US500 million (approx. $760 million) globally in three weeks. Its worldwide tally is currently $US552.9 million (approx. $840 million), which puts it ahead of Dunkirk, which clocked out with $US527 million (approx. $800 million) in 2017, and has become Nolan’s fifth-biggest movie ever.
Click the image below to see every single one of Margot Robbie’s real life Barbie outfits over at 9Honey Style.
It’s also now among the four top grossing biographies ever (company includes Bohemian Rhapsody, The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper) and the biggest World War II movie of all time.
Barbie, Oppenheimer and even the surprise, anti-trafficking hit Sound of Freedom (now at $US163.5 million [approx. $248 million] and ahead of Mission: Impossible 7) have helped fuel a boom at the box office, bringing in many millions more than was expected and helping to offset pains caused by some Northern Hemisphere summer disappointments.
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“After The Flash, Indiana Jones and, to a certain extent, Mission: Impossible, people were saying the summer was a disappointment. But it’s not over yet,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have a summer that is going to go out on a high note.”
But the moment of triumph for the industry will likely be short lived if the studios can’t reach an agreement with striking actors and writers soon. The American autumn’s release calendar has already gotten slimmer, with some studios pushing films into 2024 instead of trying to promote them without movie stars.
Sony had planned to release its PlayStation-inspired true story Gran Turismo in theatres in the United States next Friday, but will now be rolling it out slowly for two weeks before going wide on August 25. The thinking? If movie stars can’t promote the film, maybe audiences can.
“We have to be realistic,” Dergarabedian said. “We’re on this emotional high of movies doing so well, but we have to temper our enthusiasm and optimism with the fact that the strike is creating a lot of uncertainty. The longer it goes on the more profound the issues become. But the audience has spoken and they love going to the movie theatre.”
Official box office figures for this past weekend are set to be released on Monday in the United States (Tuesday in Australia).
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