'Barbie' becomes 1st solo female-directed film to reach $1 billion at box office
"Barbie" has joined the billion-dollar club.
On Sunday, the Greta Gerwig-directed movie reached $1,031,481,000 at the box office.
Gerwig is now the first solo female director to cross $1 billion at the box office. According to The Numbers, a film industry data website that tracks box office revenue, there are 50 films that have garnered more than $1 billion, but only three of those films were co-directed by a female. Those films are "Frozen" and "Frozen II," which were co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, and "Captain Marvel," which was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
"Wonder Woman," which was directed by Patty Jenkins, came close in 2017 with a total of $817.7 million worldwide at the box office.
"Barbie," which was released July 21, took in $162 million domestically during its opening weekend, according to The Numbers.
During that time, audiences were heading to movie theaters for "Barbenheimer," the viral movie event of the summer in which thousands made an event out of watching both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" on the same day.
In its second weekend, the film took in $93 million domestically to bring its overall two-week total to $351.4 million. It added another $423.1 million internationally in the first two weeks. With both numbers combined, the film earned $774.1 million in its first two weeks.
Gerwig brought the iconic doll that many know and love from childhood to life with her "Barbie" film, which stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Dua Lipa and more as different versions of Barbie and Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu and more as Ken.
Along with highlighting Barbie's nostalgic history in the film, Gerwig's film has resonated with audiences because of the many themes that are explored, including the patriarchy and what a world with women leaders across every facet of society would look like.
"It's a way to look at something through the eyes of the Kens where you think, 'Oh, I see what they've done there,'" Gerwig told "Good Morning America" in an interview. "It's not so great when you're the accessory."
