Barbie movie box office gross: every record Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film with Margot Robbie has broken

Barbie has become the definitive box office event of the year, smashing records and banking $1.36 billion (£1.082 billion) so far. It is just the 53rd film in the entire history of cinema to join the exclusive billion dollar club - not a bad feat for a movie about a doll.

The film, about a Barbie doll who doesn’t fit in with life at Barbieland, goes on a journey to the Real World, with a Ken along for the ride.

The movie has found a huge fanbase among male, female, and those who don’t identify as either, audiences, helped along by the Barbenheimer hype, but soon burning a path to box office success on its own merits.

Since its release in July, the musical fantasy film has broken plenty of records, and set a new height for female filmmaking, thanks to the genius directing of Greta Gerwig.

What records has Barbie broken?

Highest grossing film of 2023

Barbie is now the highest grossing film of 2023 - the movie nudged previous box office leader, Super Mario Bros. off the top spot, surpassing it by a few million dollars last week.

Although much fanfare was made of the Barbenheimer joint release of Barbie and Oppenheimer, Barbie has far outstripped its competition. Christopher Nolan’s nuclear bomb epic with Cillian Murphy made $850 million - not bad, but almost $500 million less than Barbie.

Highest grossing Warner Bros movie of all time

The previous highest grossing Warner Bros film was the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, Deathly Hallows part 2, which made $1.342 billion following its 2011 release. 

After more than a decade at the top Harry Potter has finally been usurped, although if adjusted for inflation, Hallows would still be far away in the lead with an adjusted gross of around $1.82 billion.

Highest grossing film directed solely by a woman

Barbie became the most successful film directed solely by a woman in August, when the Greta Gerwig film surpassed DC superhero movie Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins. Wonder Woman grossed $822 million in 2017. It has also made more than the three other films Gerwig directed - Nights and Weekends, Lady Bird, and Little Women - combined.

It has now also beaten two of the three highest grossing movies co-directed  by women - Captain Marvel, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, made $1.13 billion, and Frozen II, directed by Jennifer Lee and Christ Buck, banked $1.28. The only film co-directed by a woman that has made more than Barbie is the first Frozen movie, also directed by Lee and Buck, which made a staggering $1.45 billion.

Biggest opening weekend of the year

As well as being the highest grossing film of the year, Barbie also claims the top spot for the best opening weekend - making $356 million in its three day opening weekend, compared to Oppenheimer’s $111.8 million opening.  

Biggest opening weekend for a film based on a toy

It’s hard to believe that any toy based movie could outdo Toy Story, but Barbie has also left the Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Disney films in its wake, making more than even the most successful Toy Story release. Toy Story 4 did remarkably well, just edging to the billion dollar club with a 2019 gross of $1.073 billion, but Barbie has done $300 million better.

Margot Robbie’s highest grossing movie

Barbie has also proved a boon for its stars, as it has proved to be the leading cast members’ most successful film. Previously Robbie’s biggest earner was the 1026 Suicide Squad, in which she played Harley Quinn - the film made $745 million.

Ryan Gosling’s highest grossing movie

Gosling has starred in plenty of big films from The Notebook to Blade Runner 2047, but none has come close to matching Barbie’s success. Prior to his role as Ken, his most successful film was La La Land, which made $436 million, less than a third of Barbie’s total gross. In fact, Gosling’s previous seven highest grossing did not even make as much as Barbie collectively.

Michael Cera’s highest grossing movie

It may not be such a surprise that Michael Cera, who has the brilliant role of the unique Allan in Barbie, and is best known for his teen comedies, hasn’t starred in a higher performing film. His next best film, The Lego Batman Movie, made $310 million.

Will Ferrell’s highest grossing movie

Ferrell starred as the ineffectual Mattel president in Barbie, and his next most successful film saw him play a similar character. In The Lego Movie, which made $468.1 million, Ferrel starred as evil businessman Lord Business.