A full rundown of every box office record set by Greta Gerwig and ‘Barbie’
Life in plastic is certified to be fantastic, at least in the world of Hollywood, with Greta Gerwig’s new Barbie movie breaking a whole range of box office records over its opening weekend. Starring the likes of Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Michael Cera, Barbie became the perfect storm of financial success, leaping to the top of this year’s charts where only Illumination Entertainment’s Super Mario Bros Movie can compete.
As well as Gosling and Robbie, the film also massively benefitted from the artistic duo behind the scenes, with the celebrated Oscar-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig directing the project whilst she penned the script with her husband and equally esteemed creative Noah Baumbach. If this wasn’t enough, the source material was based on the most popular girl’s toy of all time, which seeped into the fabric of pop culture in the late 20th century.
Its success was also undoubtedly helped by the release of Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer, which dropped on the very same day as Gerwig’s film. With an equally star-studded cast that includes Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh and Matt Damon, the polar-opposite nature of the movie, in comparison to Barbie, kicked off the online ‘Barbenheimer’ trend, with many fans hoping to see both films on the same day.
Still, with Barbie earning $155million and Oppenheimer raking in $80.5m at the domestic box office, it seems as though the former has won the tumultuous box-office race.
Every box office record set by Greta Gerwig and Barbie:
The biggest opening weekend of 2023 (so far)
Barbie didn’t just do well; it defied all industry projections for its opening weekend. Thought to rake in around $150m, Gerwig’s film went a touch further, claiming $155m at the US box office. Significantly this gives Barbie the biggest opening weekend of any movie so far in 2023, beating out the previous record of $146m, set by Illumination Entertainment’s Super Mario Bros Movie in April.
Expect movie studios to sit up, take notice and dash to their nearest Argos catalogue to find the next toy worth giving a movie franchise to. For our money, Action Man should be the next character to take the big screen.
The biggest opening weekend of all time without a single IMAX screen
So, this record is pretty specific, but regardless it’s an impressive feat. Gerwig’s Barbie has recorded the biggest opening of all time for a film with no IMAX screens. Furthermore, it’s the first movie to have opened with above $100m without a single IMAX screen since 2011’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
IMAX and 4DX screens count as premium tickets for audiences, costing significantly more for them to purchase over regular screenings. As a result, these premium screens are usually pivotal to the box office success of a movie. Just look at how successful 3D screens made James Cameron’s Avatar in 2009.
The biggest opening weekend from a female director
In an industry trying to move on from its patriarchal history, this record is particularly significant. Greta Gerwig is responsible for the biggest opening weekend of all time from a female director, beating out the $153 million Anna Boden’s Captain Marvel made back in 2019. This is a great success for the industry, especially as men still direct the great majority of tentpole blockbusters.
Successes of this kind encourage studios to put more female filmmakers behind the camera and gives considerable oomph to the career of Gerwig, who has since been linked to direct DC’s forthcoming Supergirl movie.
Barbie’s opening weekend is the 24th biggest of all time
So, being 24th on the leaderboard may not seem like such a massive success, but look closer, and you’ll see just how special this is. Made on a budget of between $128-145m, a humble figure in comparison to other box office juggernauts, Barbie is a film adapted from unproven source material with an arthouse filmmaker behind the scenes who applied her own untampered vision.
If you take away sequels and prequels, Barbie’s opening is the fifth biggest of all time, only coming in behind Marvel’s Avengers and Black Panther and Disney’s Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.
The fourth biggest single weekend of all time
We thought we’d give Oppenheimer some love here, too, considering that Nolan’s film was part of the reason that Barbie was so successful. Bringing in a combined total of $301,401,457m, the weekend is the fourth biggest of all time. Also, only the fourth weekend of all time, where the overall gross has topped $300m, the success gives buoyancy to the turbulence of contemporary Hollywood.
Whilst Barbie and Oppenheimer are responsible for the lion’s share of this money, it’s also worth noting that Sound of Freedom, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also contributed.
