Barbie has reached another milestone, becoming the top-grossing film in North America for the year so far.
The Margot Robbie–starring comedy has currently grossed around $575.4 million, putting it just past The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $574 million domestic gross, according to Variety.
The news of the Greta Gerwig–directed film’s runaway success comes after it had already strutted past the $1 billion mark at he global box office.
The film will have a chance to earn even more after Warner Bros. announced on Wednesday that Barbie would be getting a chance to play in IMAX theaters for one week in North America with additional post-credits footage added.
The top global grosses of the year are also within reaching, as The Super Mario Bros. movie has only earned slightly more than Barbie in other international markets.
Top of the pack: Barbie has reached another milestone, becoming the top-grossing film in North America for the year so far
Passed over: The Margot Robbie–starring comedy has currently grossed around $575.4 million, putting it just past The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $574 million domestic gross
So far, Barbie has earned around $1.3 billion in all markets across the globe, while Mario is ahead with $1.35 billion.
The doll-inspired movie, which costars Ryan Gosling in a critically acclaimed performance as Ken, is expected to soon steal the global top spot from Mario as well.
Variety notes that the two movies are the only films of the year so far to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.
More surprising is that neither film is a superhero film, as are four of the ten highest-grossing films of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.
Marvel films can claim all four of those mega-popular films, with Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion) coming in as the second highest-grossing film ever behind Avatar, while Avengers: Infinity War ($2 billion) is number six, Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9 billion) is number seven and The Avengers ($1.5 billion) is number 10 on the list.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Black Panther have also earned more globally than Barbie so far, though it is likely to pass both.
Barbie and Mario’s massive success is also surprising because neither film is a sequel.
Studios have largely eschewed original films in recent years in favor of IP-focused franchises and ‘cinematic universes,’ meaning that many of the highest-grossing films have lately been sequels to earlier blockbusters.
Cruising ahead: Barbie currently has $1.3 billion at the global box office, and its expected to soon surpass The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $1.3 billion global haul
Change of pace: Only The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie have passed the $1 billion mark global in 2023. It’s a change from recent years when movies passing that mark primarily featured superheroes
However, both Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie benefitted from being about characters that are well-known to audiences, even though they’re not direct sequels to earlier films.
Numerous direct-to-video movies and shows about Barbie have previously been released — which were aimed primarily at children, unlike the all ages–friendly Barbie movie — and Mario previously hit the big screen in the critically reviled 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper.
Barbie has broken a string of records since debuting in July during the so-called ‘Barbenheimer’ weekend, when it competed against Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama Oppenheimer, which came in second place and has become one of the year’s most successful films thanks to its similarly impressive staying power.
At $162 million, Barbie now has the best debut of the year, and it continued that momentum by winning the box office for four weeks running.
It’s also a triumph for director Greta Gerwig. Barbie had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film directed by a woman, and it’s now the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman.
Gerwig also has the distinction of being the only solo woman director to helm a movie that grossed more than $1 billion.
According to Variety, Barbie is now the 14th highest-grossing domestic release and 20th highest-grossing global release ever.
It’s now the highest-grossing domestic release ever for Warner Bros., after Barbie toppled The Dark Knight, which was directed by Gerwig’s Oppenheimer competitor Christopher Nolan.
The outlet notes that it may soon overtake 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as it’s highest-grossing global release. That film previously earned $1.34 billion.
Fans who hoped to see Barbie in IMAX will soon get a chance after Warner Bros. announced a single week of IMAX screenings beginning on September 22.
New heights: Barbie has broken records for highest-grossing debut of 2023, and it is now the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman, also making Greta Gerwig the first woman to direct a billion-dollar film; seen in July in London
Back for more: Barbie will make its debut on IMAX screens for one week on September 22, with new post-credits footage selected by Gerwig
They will largely be held in theaters across North America, though select international markets will also get Barbie in IMAX.
The film was originally kept out of the lucrative premium format by Oppenheimer, which initially had a three-week exclusive run in all IMAX theaters due to Nolan’s longtime loyalty to the format.
That exclusive run was subsequently extended, and even as other films like Blue Beetle have scored IMAX screenings, showtimes are still being reserved for Oppenheimer, which often outsells its competitors.
Due to the being locked out of IMAX screens, Barbie primary had access to less-prestigious premium formats, but not fans can see it on massive screens, along with new post-credits footage selected by Gerwig. However, it’s unclear what the footage might contain.