Barbie's Greta Gerwig has made Hollywood history, with the fantasy comedy earning the biggest box office opening for any female director. According to Variety, the movie made a whopping $155 million in the US – and $182 million internationally.
In regards to the States, Captain Marvel, which was released in 2019 and co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously held the title with $153 million. Before that, it was Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, which pulled in $103 million in 2017. Given its predecessors are both superhero movies, which teased their titular characters' onscreen arrivals in earlier films within their respective franchises, Barbie's success is quite something.
"Studios gave audiences two uniquely different, smart and original stories that were meant for the big screen, Michael O'Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, says of Barbie and rival release Oppenheimer's takings. "People recognized that something special was happening, and they wanted to be a part of it."
Gerwig's flick sees Margot Robbie's Barbie tasked with journeying from Barbieland to the Real World to figure out why she's suddenly not fitting the mold as to what a stereotypical Barbie should be. There, the plastic gal sets out to discover what true happiness is – and finds her independence along the way. Ken, however, stows away on her trip and wastes no time bringing back all the knowledge of the patriarchy he accumulated in the Real World to Barbieland. Oh dear.
Barbie is in cinemas now. For more on the movie, check out our breakdown of all the Barbie Easter eggs you might have missed or the past Barbie movies that didn't make it to the big screen.
