‘Barbie’ reaches $1 billion at the box office, studio says

In the history of Hollywood, very few people – 28 to be precise, all men – have had the sole directing credit on a $1 billion movie.

Make that 28 men and one woman: Greta Gerwig.

“Barbie,” directed by Gerwig from a script she wrote with her partner, Noah Baumbach, will finish the weekend with more than $1 billion in ticket sales at the global box office, according to Warner Bros. No movie in the studio’s 100-year history has sold so many tickets so fast, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. As of Sunday, “Barbie” had been playing in theaters for 17 days. (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” was previously the fastest to $1 billion, at 19 days.)

Gerwig could not be reached. Warner Bros. was giddy. “PINK FEVER,” Goldstein wrote in a text message. “Barbie” was No. 1 in the United States and Canada for the third weekend in a row, collecting $53 million, for a new domestic total of $459.4 million.

“Barbie” once again disproved a stubborn Hollywood myth: that “girl” movies – films made by women, starring women and aimed at women – are limited in their appeal. An old movie industry maxim holds that women will go to a “guy” movie but not vice versa.

Other films have challenged that notion, including “Wonder Woman,” which was directed by Patty Jenkins and starred Gal Gadot. It collected $823 million worldwide for Warner Bros. in 2017. “Captain Marvel,” directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and starring Brie Larson, took in $1.1 billion for Disney in 2019. “Twilight,” based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel and starring Kristen Stewart, was directed by Catherine Hardwicke. It collected $408 million for Lionsgate in 2008.

But studios have continued to be hesitant. Before “Barbie” was released, even some Warner Bros. executives challenged the wisdom of giving Gerwig so much money – about $145 million – to make such a pink movie. The studio signed Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who played the title role, to contracts that did not include provisions for sequels.

“Women-centered movies have been undervalued, in large part because studios have so few women in senior leadership roles,” said Ana-Christina Ramón, an author of studies about Hollywood hiring. “The men in those positions are often reliant on past experience and stereotypes: Oh, that didn’t work before, so let’s not risk it again.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.