The Barbie movie, which was in theaters for only three weeks, grossed over $1 billion (€908 million). It is the first film directed by a woman to reach this milestone.
Only 53 films have ever crossed the $1 billion mark. Take some of the Harry Potter movies, for example. Although Frozen ($1.3 billion), Frozen 2 ($1.45 billion), and Captain Marvel ($1.1 billion) also had female directors, those films were co-directors. Greta Gerwig is the director of Barbie.
Warner Bros., the studio behind Barbie, praised Gerwig in a statement. “It shows her brilliance and commitment to making a film that Barbie fans of all ages will want to see.”
The real world
In the film, Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, discovers that alongside Barbie's ideal world, there is a real world, where men and women are far from equal.
The movie's huge success is good news for toymaker Mattel, the brand behind Barbie. In recent decades, there has been a lot of criticism about the doll and sales figures have declined.
Main competitor and opposite Oppenheimer, which premiered on the same date, has grossed $228.6 million to date.
