One of the major records Barbie broke this weekend is the best domestic opening for a film directed by a female director with $155 million. That surpasses 2019’s Captain Marvel, which was co-directed by Anna Boden and had a $153 million opening.
Worldwide, with an estimated $337 million, Barbie is the second best opener for a female-led film behind Captain Marvel, which earned $456.7 million. Big numbers: The global take for Gerwig’s 2019 crossover title Little Women was $218.8 million.
Other big openings for films directed by a female filmmaker include Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman in 2017, which had a $103.2 million US opening.
Other notable domestic releases from filmmakers include Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Fifty Shades of Gray , which earned an $85.1M 3-day, $93M 4-day President’s Day/Valentine’s Day weekend cume.
As we told you, Barbie is the top US opener, surpassing the $146.3 million posted by Illumination/Universal’s Super Mario Bros movie.
This weekend, with Oppenheimer grossing over $80.5 million, looks set to power the fourth-best weekend ever with an estimated $304 million behind Avengers: Endgame (April 26-28, 2019; $402 million), the weekend of Avengers: Infinity War (April 27-29, $304 million) and the 2020 weekend: Starken. (all photos from December 18-20, 2015 grossed $313.2 million).
Gerwig was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Little Women and two for Lady Bird (Director and Original Screenplay).
Warner Bros. selected this weekend to release Barbie, not to clash with Christopher Nolan who used to make movies with them, but to distance Mattel’s film from other family films in the summer. The third weekend of July has always been special for Nolan, as it’s where he released 2008’s Dark Knight to $158 million. Nolan also released Dunkirk, Dark Knight Rises and Inception. However, a big battle of girls vs. boys at the box office with movies that have unique titles.
