Barbie has hit the $1billion dollar mark at the global box office, just two weeks after its release.
- READ MORE: ‘Barbie’ review: Greta Gerwig’s grown-up toy story is fantastic fun
Greta Gerwig‘s film is the 53rd movie of all time to hit the milestone, and the first ever to be solely directed by a woman.
The dual release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on July 21 led to a sizeable uptick in UK box office numbers last month.
On the films’ first weekend, Gerwig’s comedy brought in $110million (£86.6million) at the US box office, over twice the expected takings of Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the creator of the atomic bomb.
Barbie is currently the third-highest grossing film of 2023, behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
In a four-star review of Barbie, NME wrote: “The script contains unexpected subtlety, particularly during the tender moments which pack an emotional punch. Presumably, part of Mattel’s motive for bringing Barbie to the big screen was changing her outdated image of rigid beauty ideals and unrealistic body conformism. So sprinkled throughout are marketing messages (“Barbie means you can be anything”) that sound like they come straight from a press release.
“Gerwig is clever enough to deliver these with self-awareness and some sarcastic jokes (Mirren thanking Barbie for ending misogyny is a highlight), meaning the balance between reality and commercial is never lost. For a movie that ostensibly exists to promote a doll, this is laudable. Now come on Barbie, let’s go party.”
This week, Ryan Gosling surprised Gerwig with a flash mob to celebrate her 40th birthday. A video was posted of the flash mob to Barbie‘s official social media channels. Gerwig was in a pilates class when a group of dancers arrived and performed a routine set to Gosling’s song from the movie, ‘I’m Just Ken’.
