Summary
- Barbie has a strong opening week at the box office, but it remains uncertain if it can reach the coveted $1 billion mark like The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
- The film has received critical and popular acclaim, praised for its strong cast, witty script, and tackling of important topics like consumerism and feminism.
- Even if Barbie falls short of $1 billion, it is still considered a major success financially and critically, with the potential to leave a lasting impact on audiences and future movies.
While Barbie has been popular at the summer box office, questions remain as to how far it can climb at the domestic and worldwide box office. While the buzz around Barbie vs Oppenheimer has been officially settled at the box office, there’s still another hurdle for Greta Gerwig’s film to clear, which is the $1 billion mark that all summer blockbusters covet. While the friendly rivalry between Gerwig and Christopher Nolan’s film certainly may have helped Barbie have such a strong head start in theaters, it’s unclear whether or not the movie will continue to have the financial staying power it needs to crack $1 billion and make even more movie history.
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie follows the titular Barbie (Margot Robbie) and an ensemble cast of other Barbie dolls as she goes through an existential crisis and travels to the human world. By the end of the Barbie movie, this struggle culminates with Robbie's character grappling with her identity and her influence in the real world. Released on July 21, 2023, Barbie has been met with critical and popular acclaim, with the movie currently sitting at 90% with critics and 86% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has also been praised for its strong cast and witty script, all of which, alongside the hype generated by Barbenheimer, helped give the movie a strong opening week.
The Barbie Movie Is Now Summer 2023's Best Shot At A $1 Billion Movie
If Barbie were to continue performing well, it would land the film in a prestigious club that has only had one new member from summer 2023’s movies. Thus far, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been the only other film to make over $1 billion at the box office, a feat that it achieved in April with a total profit of $1.246 billion worldwide. This feat catapulted The Super Mario Bros. Movie to success as the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and the highest-grossing film based on a video game. Given its strong opening weekend, Barbie is one movie with a shot at unseating The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Since The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s performance in April, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the only other film that has remotely close to reaching similar heights. The third installment in the MCU trilogy opened to $289 million globally - an impressive amount, but it's not quite as good as Barbie's opening box office haul. In comparison, Barbie surpassed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by a significant margin, as the former opened to the welcome tune of $337 million worldwide.
The Barbie Movie Has A Decent Chance Of Making $1 Billion (But It's Not A Sure Thing)
With Barbie’s box office opening raking in $337 million, it has a chance at joining The Super Mario Bros. Movie in the $1 billion club. This is especially true since the average multiplier for a movie at this point is around 2.9, which equals the multiplier of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Following that formula, Barbie's profits could come in at just under $1 billion. That's close enough to make it difficult to say definitively if it'll ultimately cross that threshold or not. But judging by the positive reception and general hype surrounding the film, Barbie could do even better than anticipated, particularly since the movie has not yet cleared its first full week in theaters.
Barbie Is A Major Success, Regardless Of Whether It Makes $1 Billion
Barbie‘s ability to broach the $1 billion mark aside, there's no denying its status as a box office success. With a budget between $128-145 million, the movie is already well on its way to making a huge profit, and the strong reviews of the film suggest it's far from done making waves at the box office. Falling short of $1 billion won't spoil its theatrical run, as $800 million or even $700 million would still be an attractive figure.
Even beyond its financial and critical success, Barbie is still likely to be labeled a success story in terms of the impact it has had on audiences. The movie's willingness to tackle new angles on difficult topics, such as consumerism, feminism, and relationship dynamics are all likely to stay with audiences and perhaps impact future movies. As such, the poignant message and the subversive storytelling present in Barbie gives the movie great significance. In this way, its success can last beyond the summer box office and make it an important, popular film for years to come.