Barbie Box Office: Greta Gerwig's film is biggest weekend opener for a female director

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie hit the big screens on July 21. The Margot Robbie starrer narrates the tale of a plastic doll breaking free from ‘Barbieland’ and travelling to the real world. Ever since its release, the movie has been creating ripples at the global box office. 

3 things you need to know 

• Barbie was released on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. 
• Barbie is headlined by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. 
• In its first weekend, Barbie earned $337 Million, globally. 

Greta Gerwig creates box office history

Greta Gerwig has smashed all box office records as Barbie has become the biggest box office opener worldwide in 2023. Made on a budget of $145 million, as per Variety, the movie has already minted a total of $337 million at the global box office. This is Greta’s third solo directorial after Ladybird (2017) and Little Women (2019). 

(Barbie director Greta Gerwig with the lead actor Margot Robbie during filming | Image: Film Updates/Twitter) 

Barbie has been drawing audiences to the theatre to witness its pink-splashed fantasy land. The reception of the movie has been positive, and Barbie has debuted as the highest-grossing film helmed by a female director. Previously, the record was held by Wonder Woman (2017) which was directed by Patty Jenkins, which earned $103 million its opening weekend.  

Barbie outdoes Oppenheimer at box office

On July 21, the world saw arguably one of the biggest box-office clashes. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Gerwig’s Barbie were released on the same day. 

(The Barbie vs Oppenheimer clash is popularly known as Barbenheimer | Image: Film Updates/Twitter) 

While the Margot Robbie starrer clearly has an upper hand at the international box office, the situation is not quite the same in India, where the audience is more drawn towards Nolan’s period biographical drama as opposed to Gerwig’s comedy film. As per trade analyst Sumit Kadel, Oppenheimer has earned close to Rs 50 crore in its opening weekend in India while Barbie has only minted Rs 18.50 crore.