Barbie flies past The Super Mario Bros. Movie and becomes the highest-grossing film for 2023 in North America

Barbie has reached another milestone, becoming the highest-grossing film in North America to date.

The comedy starring Margot Robbie currently grosses around $575.4 million, just passing the $574 million domestic gross of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is coming, according Variety.

The news of the Greta Gerwig-directed film’s smash success comes after the worldwide box office had already passed the $1 billion mark.

The movie will have a chance to make even more money after Warner Bros. Wednesday announced that Barbie will have the opportunity to play in IMAX theaters across North America for a week, with additional post-credits footage added.

The year’s highest global grosses are also within reach, as the Super Mario Bros. film has only made slightly more than Barbie in other international markets.

Passed: The comedy starring Margot Robbie currently grosses around $575.4 million, just passing the $574 million domestic gross of The Super Mario Bros. Movie coming

To date, Barbie has earned approximately $1.3 billion in all markets around the world, with Mario leading the way with $1.35 billion.

The puppet-inspired film, which stars Ryan Gosling as Ken in a critically acclaimed performance, is also expected to steal Mario’s global top spot soon.

Variety notes that the two films are the only films of the year to date to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

More surprisingly, neither movie is a superhero movie, as are four of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.

Marvel movies can claim all four of these mega-popular movies, with Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion) being the second-highest-grossing movie ever after Avatar, while Avengers: Infinity War ($2 billion) is number six, Spider-Man : No Way Home ($1.9 billion) is number seven and The Avengers ($1.5 billion) is number 10 on the list.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Black Panther have also earned more globally than Barbie so far, though it will likely pass both.

The huge success of Barbie and Mario is also surprising because neither movie is a sequel.

Studios have largely eschewed original films in favor of IP-focused franchises and “cinematic universes” in recent years, meaning many of the highest-grossing films of late have been sequels to previous blockbusters.

Heading to the future: Barbie currently has $1.3 billion in worldwide box office, and is expected to soon surpass the $1.3 billion worldwide gross of The Super Mario Bros. surpass movie

Change of pace: Only The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie will surpass $1 billion globally by 2023. It’s a change from years past, when movies that crossed that line mostly featured superheroes

Both Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, however, benefited from being characters familiar to the public, even though they are not direct sequels to previous films.

Numerous direct-to-video movies and shows about Barbie have previously been released — which were primarily aimed at children, unlike the age-friendly Barbie movie — and Mario previously appeared on the big screen in the critically-maligned live-action movie Super 1993’s Mario Bros., starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper.

Barbie has broken a series of records since its debut in July during the so-called ‘Barbenheimer’ weekend, when it competed against Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama Oppenheimer, which finished in second place and has become one of the most successful films of the year thanks to the similar movie. impressive stamina.

At $162 million, Barbie now has the best debut of the year, and that momentum continued by winning the box office four weeks in a row.

It is also a triumph for director Greta Gerwig. Barbie had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film directed by a woman, and it is now the highest-grossing film directed solely by a woman.

Gerwig also has the honor of being the only solo female director to direct a film that grossed more than $1 billion.

According to Variety, Barbie is now the 14th highest-grossing domestic release and the 20th highest-grossing worldwide release ever.

It is now the highest-grossing domestic release ever for Warner Bros., after Barbie Toppled The Dark Knight, directed by Gerwig’s Oppenheimer competitor Christopher Nolan.

The outlet notes that it could soon overtake 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as the highest-grossing worldwide release. That movie previously earned $1.34 billion.

Fans who were hoping to see Barbie in IMAX will soon have a chance after Warner Bros. has announced a single week of IMAX screenings starting September 22.

New Highlights: Barbie has broken records for the highest-grossing debut of 2023, and is now the highest-grossing film directed exclusively by a woman, making Greta Gerwig also the first woman to direct a billion-dollar film; seen in July in London

Back for more: Barbie will debut on IMAX screens for a week on September 22, with new post-credits selected by Gerwig

They will largely be held in theaters in North America, though select international markets will also get Barbie in IMAX.

The film was originally kept out of the lucrative premium format by Oppenheimer, initially running exclusively in all IMAX theaters for three weeks due to Nolan’s longtime loyalty to the format.

That exclusive run was subsequently renewed, and even as other films like Blue Beetle have scored IMAX screenings, showtimes are still reserved for Oppenheimer, which often outsells its competitors.

Because Barbie didn’t have access to IMAX screens, Barbie Primary had access to less prestigious premium formats, but fans can’t see it on big screens along with new post-credits footage selected by Gerwig. However, it is unclear what the images may contain.