The film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, has also outperformed Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was released three weeks ago on the same day.
Barbie might be synonymous with pink – but her film is now firmly in the green, with more than $1bn (£784m) in box office sales worldwide.
The smash film, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, surpassed the “Barbillion” mark on Sunday after grossing an additional $127 million (£99 million) over the weekend. It means that the picture has now shattered the box office record for a film directed by a woman, which was previously held by Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. It has also surpassed the $400 million (£313 million) and $500 million (£392 million) sales milestones faster than any other Warner Bros. release, including the Harry Potter films.
Oppenheimer, which was released three weeks ago on the same day, also reached a milestone this weekend, breaking $500 million (£392 million) internationally. “As distributors, we’re not often left speechless by a film’s performance, but Barbillion has blown even our most optimistic forecasts out of the water.”
Only 53 films in contemporary box office history have grossed more than $1 billion, not including inflation. However, Warner Bros. said on Sunday that Barbie had earned a total of $1.032 billion (£809 million) globally, with $459 million (£360 million) from domestic theaters (including the United States and Canada) and another $572.1 million (£448 million) from overseas.
The findings, which represent a massive return on the film’s reputed $150 million (£117 million) budget, have been confirmed by media analytics firm Comscore. The “Barbillion” milestone was praised as a “testament to her [Gerwig’s] brilliance” by Warner Bros co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy. The film, which stars Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, takes Mattel Inc’s iconic doll on an excursion in the real world.
Empire has received positive feedback from both fans and critics.
