Greta Gerwig has broken the record for the opening weekend for a female director, solo or not.
His Barbie The film opened with an estimated $155 million at the North American box office over the weekend of July 21-23, a historic sum that easily surpasses Patty Jenkins’ $100+ million domestic opening. Wonder Woman. In 2019, captain marvel it also broke the glass ceiling by opening with $153 million. That movie was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.
Other statistics: Barbie marked the best opening of the year to date, as well as one of the best openings since the pandemic, and towered over Christopher Nolan’s male bias oppenheimer this weekend. (oppenheimer it still did well in its own right for a three-hour historical drama at the $80.5 million opening).
BarbieThe startling start of is a testament to Gerwig’s vision to bring the world’s most famous fashion doll to the big screen, as well as the marketing campaign orchestrated by Warner Bros. and toymaker Mattel.
He Barbie The film, which stars Margot Robbie in the title role and Ryan Gosling as Ken, has become what is arguably the movie event of the year thus far. Women of all ages and girls made up nearly 70 percent of the audience, according to exit polls.
Barbie is Gerwig’s third feature film following his critically acclaimed 2017 film special. lady birdwhich marked her solo feature directorial debut and earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Feature. lady bird it grossed $80 million at the worldwide box office, a stellar number for an independent title. Gerwig’s next directing outing was Sony’s 2019 Little woman adaptation, which opened to $16.8 million domestically over the Christmas holidays on its way to earning $218.8 million globally. Little woman it also earned Gerwig an Oscar nomination for best director.
Barbie —playing the iconic Mattel fashion doll—is also strutting in large numbers in select foreign markets for a projected international debut of up to $120 million and $380 or more globally.
In a defining moment for Hollywood’s gender problem, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman grossed $103.3 million in June 2017. Overseas, Wonder Woman it also won the weekend with $125 million from 55 markets for a global bow of $228.3 million. (captain marvelstarring Brie Larson, opened to $455 million worldwide).
The previous main opening record holder for a solo female director before Wonder Woman Sam Taylor-Johnson era Fifty Shades of Grey, without adjusting for inflation. That film debuted to $93 million over the four-day Valentine’s Day/Presidents’ Day weekend in 2015, including a three-day gross of $85 million.
more to come.
