Who does Greta Gerwig join, as ‘Barbie’ becomes the most successful opening weekend for a female director?

As “Barbie” rules the box office after its opening weekend, the film has created history by becoming the most successful opening weekend for a film helmed by a female director, surpassing the record set by Anna Boden on the opening weekend of “Captain Marvel” back in 2017 and “Wonder Woman” also in the same year.

It’s a stark contrast to some of the box office returns for Gerwig’s other, critically acclaimed pieces; her multiple Oscar nominated film “Lady Bird” earned $4.1 million USD after it received a widespread release in 2017, while her 2019 adaptation of “Little Women” earned $31.2 million USD during its opening weekend at the US box office.

Although “Captain Marvel” was co-directed by Anna Boden, some consider it taboo to rank in the list as it was also co-directed by Ryan Fleck. Nonetheless, the film - with its sequel, “The Marvels,” having dropped its first trailer last week - earned $153 million, meaning that despite being second there is an asterisk next to it.

Rounding out the list of successful box office numbers for female directors, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey” managed to pull a huge $93 million USD upon its opening weekend at the box office, while Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart” comes in fifth with $83.5 million USD. Originally, Olivia Wilde was meant to be directing “Barbie” but left due to creative differences, with Greta Gerwig taking up the reins shortly afterwards.

Long considered one of the most important women in cinema, “Barbie” finally pushed Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar winning film, “The Hurt Locker,” out of the top five, with the film having earned a respectable $60.8 million during its opening weekend in 2009.

The top five box office opening numbers for female-directed films

These numbers provided come courtesy of Box Office Mojo - but in order from greatest amount to least amount, the following films directed (or co-directed) by females have earned the most amount after one weekend at the US box office.

1. Greta Gerwig - $155 million (Barbie - 2023)
2. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck - $153 million (Captain Marvel - 2017)
3. Patty Jenkins - $103.2 (Wonder Woman - 2017)
4. Sam Taylor-Johnson - $93 million (Fifty Shades of Grey - 2015)
5. Olivia Wilde - $83.5 million (Booksmart - 2019)

Where does “Barbie” rank overall in terms of opening weekend box office numbers?

Overall, “Barbie” and its opening box office ranks 24th overall in terms of biggest opening weekend box office figures, bumping “Captain Marvel” to 25th. It still pales in comparison though to the big three box office openings of all time. 

According to Box Office Mojo, “Avengers: Endgame” still holds that record with a weekend box office total of $357.1 million, followed by another Marvel title, “Spider-man: No Way Home” earning $260.1 million in its opening weekend.