Ken voice: SUBLIME! That’s the only word to describe the incredible success of Greta Gerwig’s fuchsian feminist fable Barbie as the blockbuster continues to go from strength to strength at the global box office. Having made a historic $155m in its opening weekend, as of Thursday – barely a week since release – the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starrer has now grossed over half a billion dollars, driving cinema’s busiest week since pre-pandemic times.
Per Deadline’s reporting, the running total on Gerwig’s subversive take on Mattel’s iconic doll is currently sitting at a sweet $528.6 million worldwide. And, as if that isn’t impressive Kenough, this dazzling box office display has seen the film surpass The Dark Knight and Aquaman’s records for consecutive weekday takings for Warner Bros. – and become the studio’s second best opening week in the UK ever, trailing only the franchise-closing instalment of the Harry Potter series.
But just what is it that’s causing this Gerwigian box office groundswell? Well, it could be the power of Mattel’s most recognisable brand being given its big screen debut. It could also be the pure Kenergy of the film’s veritable constellation of stars, who all bring their a-game to Barbieland and beyond. Or perhaps it’s the counter-programming opportunity presented by the phenomenon that is Barbenheimer, which has been driving fans of Christopher Nolan’s atom bomb epic Oppenheimer – which, by the way, is rapidly fusing its way to an also mightily impressive $300 million taking. Who can say, eh? One thing we do know is that at this point, cinema is Greta Gerwig’s Mojo Dojo Casa House, and we’re all just living in it. So cool.