Barbie couldn’t be dancing any faster.
The Greta Gerwig-directed movie, from Warner Bros., earned a spectacular $131.5 million at the global box office in its second weekend, including an estimated $93 million domestically and $122.2 million from 70 markets overseas.
That puts Barbie‘s domestic total at $351.4 million. It has earned an equally-as-surprising $423.1 million overseas for a worldwide booty of $774.5 million after just 12 days in release (movies begin rolling out midweek overseas).
At this pace, the female-fueled pic, starring Margot Robbie and inspired by Mattel’s iconic fashion doll, could join the billion-dollar club at the global box office as early as next weekend; if not, shortly thereafter. It will be the first Hollywood movie in history directed by a woman solo to cross $1 billion, supplanting Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman ($822 million), not adjusted for inflation. And it will be the second pic of 2023 so far to join the billion-dollar club after Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.34 billion).
Detractors had predicted the female-fueled film would drop off sharply in its sophomore outing, but they were wrong. It fell 43 percent in North America and even less overseas, or 32 percent.
The movie has even taken on a life of its own in China, where its cume hit $25 million through Sunday after a soft $8.2 million opening. It could leg out to $40 million or more, far more than anyone expected, considering Barbie isn’t doing as well in Asian markets as it is elsewhere. There’s hope now that the buzzy bump in China could help Barbie‘s chances in Japan, where it opens next month.
Among all markets, the U.K. leads with $61.6 million, ahead of the final Harry Potter film’s first 10 days, while it is already the biggest Warners movie ever in Brazil with an early total of $33.5 million.
Regionally, Barbie is Warners’ second-biggest movie of all time behind Joker after surpassing the likes of the final Harry Potter film, Batman v. Superman and Aquaman. The pic is also thriving in Europe, where it dropped only 22 percent.
The combination of Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer — dubbed the Barbenheimer effect — has been a boon for the summer box office.
From Universal, Oppenheimer prospered in its second weekend. It dropped just 44 percent in North America to $46.2 million — the biggest second weekend ever for an R-rated pic after passing up Deadpool 2‘s $43.5 million — for a domestic total of $174.6 million. Overseas, the three-hour biographical drama earned $72.4 million overseas for a foreign haul of $226.3 million and $400.4 million worldwide, which makes it Nolan’s sixth-biggest film of all time.
And Oppenheimer is already Nolan’s biggest film ever in 28 markets and his biggest non-superhero title in 39.
More to come.
Pamela McClintock
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