Barbie not only established the best opening weekend for a movie in theaters for 2023; it also smashed the record for the best first weekend at the cinema for a film directed by a woman.
With US$162 million (about C$213 million) in ticket sales at North American theaters, according to studio totals on Monday, Barbie dethroned at once Captain Marvelwhich was co-directed by Anna Boden and opened to $153.4 million in 2019, and wonder womanthe 2017 film by Patty Jenkins that debuted to $103.3 million.
With a budget of $145 million, Barbie also cost less to produce than Captain Marvel ($152 million) and wonder woman ($200 million).
With a female audience in mind
Globally, the film far exceeded the debut of wonder woman with more than $337 million compared to $228.3 million, although the global launch of Captain Marvel was greater than $455 million.
The beginnings of Barbie are also significant because its audience was 65% female — not surprising in itself, but when it comes to box office history, films that gross over $100 million often have predominantly male audiences (including for Captain Marvel And wonder woman). This, some have pointed out, is perhaps less of a rule and more of a lack of great movies that were made and promoted with a mainstream female audience in mind.
A close but imperfect comparison is Fifty Shades of grey, which was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, and grossed $85 million in its first three days. The first part of the adaptation of the trilogy of erotic novels had generated $ 93 million in five days when it hit theaters in 2017.
Barbie also won the title for the third-biggest July debut of all time, topping The Dark Knight And The Dark Knight Rises by Christopher Nolan — not adjusted for inflation — ranking behind the most recent version of the film The Lion King And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Greta Gerwig co-wrote and directed Barbie which is destined to be the first of many films inspired by Mattel’s toys. And in a single weekend, the feature has already surpassed the domestic box office receipts of the director’s two previous films, Little Womenwhich grossed $108.1 million and lady birdwith 49 million dollars.
In 2018, Mr.me Gerwig also made history by becoming the fifth woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director (for lady bird). By 2023, seven women had been nominated for this prestigious award. Observers are already predicting that Mme Gerwig will get a new nomination for next year’s ceremony.
“Triumph” celebrated
The success of Barbie and Mme Gerwig was widely celebrated online, and many people in Hollywood expressed their joy.
Actress Reese Witherspoon posted “well done, GG! on Instagram, while director Ry Russo-Young wrote that ” Barbie and its success loom as a beacon of hope” amid strikes and largely halted productions.
“It is extremely original, feminist and with a singular scope, wrote Mme Russo Young. These are rare qualities for great films these days. I hope to see more like this in the years to come. »
Filmmaker Nancy Meyers also celebrated the “triumph” of Barbie on Instagram, but bristled at the importance given to her director’s gender, asking if “Christopher Nolan has ever been called a male director once in his life.” Mme Meyers and Mr. Nolan are among a handful of writer-directors who have had two or more of their original films gross over $100 million domestically.
” Barbie by Greta Gerwig has accomplished something profound. The fact that she (Greta Gerwig) did such a fun and entertaining feminist review and broke so many box office records with a movie about a doll that was such a lightning rod in our culture is a monumental feat that should not be underestimated,” Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood blog and artistic director of the Athena Film Festival, wrote in an email Monday.
Now it’s about how far Barbie can go and if it can surpass the other best films directed by women. In North America, to get first place, Barbie should generate more revenue than Frozen IIco-directed by Jennifer Lee, which grossed $477.4 million. Captain Marvel is in second place with $426.8 million.