With $1 bn grossed globally, ‘Barbie’ adds huge pink feather to Greta Gerwig’s cap
Greta Gerwig becomes first woman to reach milestone as solo director; Warner Bros describes “Barbillion” as “watershed moment”
Barbie, the movie, crossed the coveted mark of grossing $1 billion globally on August 6. The Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starrer became only the sixth film to do so in the post-pandemic era.
The film directed by Greta Gerwig, which gives a twist to the commonly perceived image of the iconic doll, crossed the $1-billion mark merely within just 17 days of being released, according to distributor Warner Bros.
“Watershed moment”
With this, Greta Gerwig has also become the first woman to reach the milestone as a solo director. Warner Bros has described “Barbillion” as a “watershed moment”.
Other female directors have worked on films that have surpassed the $1-billion mark, but they had a male filmmaker co-directing the film. For instance, the Frozen movies raked in more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, but they were co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck.
One of the major factors behind Barbie’s success was its marketing campaign. Pink billboards were installed in cities worldwide, while people turned up in pink to watch it at the theatres.
In elite company
Only five other films have crossed the $1-billion mark since the pandemic. These are:
Spider-Man: No Way Home: It was the first post-pandemic film to cross the $1-billion mark. It has raked in more than $1.9 million.
Jurassic World: Dominion: This Chris Pratt-starrer was another blockbuster to shatter the pandemic blues. It grossed a little more than $1 billion at the box office.
Avatar: The Way of Water: The third most successful film of all time released in December 2022. Its whopping figures of more than $2.3 billion worldwide will be hard to beat.
Top Gun: Maverick: The Tom Cruise-starrer became a big blockbuster. Released 36 years after the first Top Gun film, it grossed $1.4 billion at the global box office.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: It grossed $1.35 billion at the global box office.
