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A brand-new film with Disney ties hit the box office in late July and has already surpassed the $1 billion mark. And that’s just part of the film’s impressive bragging rights.
Credit: Magical DIStractions/Canva
The very first announcements about this particular film seemed almost laughable–a movie centered around a toy traditionally marketed to elementary-aged girls that has been manufactured since 1959. It would never fly, and the director and producers should scrap the project before it became another textbook film school example of what not to do in Hollywood. How could the creators of the film overcome such a mountain of potential mockery?
Simple. Give it a story that appeals to a broader audience, drum up interest in the film by employing a wide range of pre-debut marketing strategies, and be sure to cast actors and actresses that also draw crowds. And it worked. Suddenly, the once-laughable film had become an overnight success–almost quite literally.
Credit: Warner Bros.
In less than three weeks at the box office, the Barbie movie, distributed by Warner Bros., has made its way into the billion-dollar film club, surpassing the $1 billion mark on August 5, just 17 days after its premiere. No other Warner Bros. film has ever sold as many tickets so quickly, and the film’s success has earned director Greta Gerwig some exceptional bragging rights: she’s the first-ever solo female filmmaker with a one-billion-dollar film under her belt.
“A massive achievement like this is possible when you have an incredible filmmaking team, with cast and crew coming together to create a truly special moviegoing experience,” Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “Greta now joins an elite group of writer-directors whose singular vision has generated $1 billion at the global box office, a milestone that is a testament to her brilliance and to her commitment to [delivering] a movie that Barbie fans of every age want to see on the big screen.”
Credit: Warner Bros.
After only 17 days in theaters, Barbie had already earned $459 million at the North American box office and $572 million at the international box office. Years before the debut of the film about Barbie’s crisis that has her questioning her world and her existence, three other billion-dollar box office smash hits, co-directed by women, made their mark in Hollywood’s history–Disney’s Frozen (2013), which earned a cool $1.3 billion, Disney’s Frozen 2 (2019), which earned an even cooler $1.45 billion, and Marvel’s Captain Marvel (2019), another hero at the box office, garnering $1.1 billion in ticket sales.
The plot of the film, which stars Margot Robbie as Mattel’s flagship doll, is a rather simple one: “Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence,” as reported by IMDb. But the story of the Barbie movie is well-developed and is told from the viewpoint of Barbie, as well as her mainstay guy, Ken. The film, which is rated PG-13 and classified as a fantasy comedy, also embraces strong undercurrents of unity, acceptance, compassion, and understanding.
The new film was distributed by Warner Bros. Studios, and though Disney is a competitor of the studios and has no ownership in Mattel, Barbie had a role in one of Disney and PIXAR’s most famous, beloved, and profitable film franchises. She first appeared in PIXAR’s Toy Story 2 (1999) and also plays a role in Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Credit: PIXAR Animation Studios
The worldwide success so far of Barbie is due largely to the fact that the film has been able to garner box office sales in some of the largest movie markets in the world, including Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In each of these markets, the Barbie movie has been in the No. 1 spot every weekend since its theatrical debut.
But the strength of the uber-talented and experienced cast of the film cannot be overstated. Warner Bros. stopped at nothing to bring out some of Hollywood’s most famous actors and actresses to play along in Barbie’s story. The cast includes the following:
- Margot Robbie as Barbie
- Ryan Gosling as Ken
- Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel
- Dua Lipa as the Mermaid Barbies
- Jamie Demetriou as a Mattel employee
- Dame Helen Mirren as the Narrator
- Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie
- Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie
- Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie
- Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie
- Hari Nef as Dr. Barbie
- Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie
- Kingsley Ben-Adir as Ken #1
- Simu Liu as Ken #2
- Scott Evans as Ken #3
- Ncuti Gatwa as Ken #4
- John Cena as Merman Ken
- America Ferrera as Gloria
- Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha
- Rhea Perlman as Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll
Credit: Women’s Health
The Barbie film is expected to continue its theatrical run through August 19. To date, no official information has been released about the film’s release on other platforms.
