The 10 fastest movies to reach $1 billion at the box office
With Greta Gerwig at the helm, Mattel behind the scenes, and Margot Robbie at the forefront, Barbie was always going to be a hit. Months before its release date, the blockbuster garnered the intrigue of cinephiles and reluctant cinema-goers alike through an all-encompassing, pink-fuelled marketing campaign and an ongoing battle with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
As a consequence of the worldwide hype cultivated by Warner Bros, Barbie has surpassed $1 billion at the box office in just under three weeks. This milestone makes Gerwig the first female director to make $1 billion, but it also pushes Barbie into the top ten fastest movies to break $1 million. Gerwig is in good company among a list full of blockbusting titans, from Star Wars to the MCU. To celebrate Gerwig’s achievement, we’re taking a look back at the top ten fastest movies to reach $1 billion at the box office.
Barbie sits comfortably at the number ten spot, tied with Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi at 19 days. The two were just beaten by The Fate of the Furious, the eighth entry into the Fast & Furious franchise, which hit the milestone in just 18 days in 2017. Just two years earlier, the film’s predecessor, Furious 7, made $1 billion in 17 days, earning it the number seven spot.
James Cameron, expectedly, takes two spots on the list. Avatar: The Way of Water, last year’s long-awaited sequel to the 2009 epic, claims the number six spot. The sequel earned $1 billion in just 14 days and became the highest-grossing film of 2022. Jurassic World, another long-awaited sequel to a beloved franchise, beats Cameron’s sequel by just one day. Colin Trevorrow’s first instalment in the Jurassic World trilogy surpassed $1 billion in under two weeks, in just 13 days.
The top four of the list are, predictably, dominated by Marvel. The Tom Holland-fronted Peter Parker reunion film Spider-Man: No Way Home comes in at number four, taking just 12 days to reach the milestone. J. J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens also took 12 days, earning it the bronze position.
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame take the second and first spots, respectively. Infinity War just beat out Spider-Man: No Way Home, earning $1 billion in 11 days, while Endgame needed less than a week. The highly anticipated sequel reached $1 billion in an impressive five days. It continued this trajectory, becoming the fastest film to make $2.5 billion worldwide – it took just 20 days.
Check out the full list below.
The 10 fastest movies to reach $1 billion:
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) dir. Anthony and Joe Russo (5 days)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) dir. Anthony and Joe Russo (11 days)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) dir. J. J. Abrams (12 days)
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) dir. Jon Watts (12 days)
- Jurassic World (2015) dir. Colin Trevorrow (13 days)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) dir. James Cameron (14 days)
- Furious 7 (2015) dir. James Wan (17 days)
- The Fate of the Furious (2017) dir. F. Gary Gray (18 days)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) dir. Rian Johnson (19 days)
- Barbie (2023) dir. Greta Gerwig(19 days)
