Topline
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie officially surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie at the worldwide box office Saturday, according to Variety, becoming the world’s highest-grossing movie this year after more than a month in theaters.
Margot Robbie at the premiere of “Barbie” held at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 9, 2023 in … [+] Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Barbie brought in $1.36 billion at the global box office, edging past The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $1.35 billion grossing figure, Variety reported.
The global top spot was secured by Barbie a little more than a week after it secured $575 million in the U.S. and topped Mario at the domestic box office.
A crowning moment for Barbie also arrived after the pink-soaked adventure comedy became the highest-grossing movie in Warner Bros. history, overtaking Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Barbie has been in theaters for a little more than six weeks and will be released digitally on September 5.
Tangent
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which released on the same day as Barbie and benefited from the “Barbenheimer” double feature phenomena, became the No. 2 highest-grossing rated-R film of all time this week. Oppenheimer now sits more than $200 million behind Todd Phillips’ Joker, according to Box Office Mojo.
Key Background
Barbie’s box office success has been characterized by several record breaking milestones. The movie had this year’s highest-grossing opening weekend with $162 million in gross sales in its first three days in theaters. Barbie’s performance also made Gerwig the highest-grossing female director of all time in the U.S. The movie would have likely reached its milestones faster had it not been banned in a handful of countries including Algeria, Kuwait and Vietnam, the former of which pulled Barbie from theaters over objections to the movie’s gender and sexuality themes.
Further Reading
‘Barbie’ Becomes Highest-Earning Film Of The Year, Surpasses ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ (Forbes)
Barbie, Inc: How A $3 Toy Inspired A Multi-Billion-Dollar Dream World (Forbes)
