20 Impressive Records the Barbie Movie Crushed in 2023
It's fantastic!
Amidst the writers' and actors' strikes and much talk about the decline of cinematography these days, Greta Gerwig's Barbie seems to be one of the few bright spots for Hollywood this year. Or should I say pink spot?
Even before the film premiered on July 21, the aesthetic of the plastic Barbie world had taken pop culture and other areas of our lives by storm. All shades of pink have suddenly become attractive, and Mattel's Barbie has returned to the wish lists of both children and adult (guilty!) consumers.
Of course, with such an amazing promo campaign, the Barbie movie had to do the bare minimum to succeed: not suck. And it didn't.
On the contrary, beneath its bright pink candy wrapper, Greta Gerwig's story turned out to be empowering, engaging for all ages, and filled with some profound messages. No wonder it became an instant critical and audience hit and went on a record-breaking journey.
Barbie’s box office
It's hard to list all the records Barbie has broken, but we'll try anyway. Of course, since money is the easiest thing to count, all of these milestones are related to Barbie's box office performance.
To date, Barbie has grossed over $1.404 billion, making it the 14th highest-grossing movie of all time. In its opening weekend, the movie made $155 million in the U.S. In its opening week, it brought $258.4 million domestically and $578.7 million globally, making a lot of money for its studio, Warner Bros.
Here are the top twenty records Barbie has shattered.
Top records
- 2023 Biggest opening weekend
- 2023 Top opening weeks globally and domestically
- Fourth $300M+ weekend ever
- Top-grossing film of 2023 globally
Records for Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros.' most successful worldwide release
- Warner Bros.' highest-grossing domestic release
- Highest opening ever for a non-franchise Warner Bros. film
- Tie for fastest Warner Bros. film to reach the $1 billion mark
- Highest-grossing Warner Bros. title of all time worldwide
- Warner Bros.' biggest second weekend ever
- Top-grossing Warner Bros. movie of all time in 43 markets
Records for the cast and crew
- Biggest opening week for Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling
- Biggest global hit for Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling
- Largest female-directed film opening worldwide
- First solo female director to make $1 billion film
- World's highest-grossing live-action film ever directed by a woman
- Female director's biggest domestic release
Records you would never think of
- Biggest domestic opening for toy-based film
- $100 million-plus opening (Barbie) and a $80 million-plus debut (Oppenheimer) in the same weekend
- Ireland's top movie ever