New York (CNN) � has broken numerous records since its July 21 opening and the summer blockbuster is close to breaking another one.
Trailing behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movieâ€� by an estimated $48 million, writer-director Greta Gerwig’s “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� appears destined to gain the top spot for highest grossing domestic film of 2023.
“B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� raked in a stunning domestically in its and last week joined the $1 billion club in global box office sales â€� a feat only achieved by about 50 films in history, adjusted for inflation, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNN. While “Pink Feverâ€� has slowed in the last week, “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� is estimated to have earned $33.7 million this weekend to maintain its stronghold in the theaters.
The comedy about the iconic doll is estimated to have reached $525 million domestic and nearly $1.2 billion worldwide. “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� took in $10 million Friday alone, earning an average above $11.3 million per day from August 5-11. “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� passed the $500 million domestic mark in the middle of its third week, while “The Super Mario Bros. Movieâ€� needed more than five weeks to reach the milestone.
The combined release of “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� and “Oppenheimer,â€� dubbed “Barbenheimer,â€� has become a pop culture sensation and one that might revive the struggling movie theater industry. Together, was the fourth highest-grossing industry weekend of all time in North America, totaling $302 million. Most top-grossing films often involve elaborate action scenes and special effects, unlike “Barbenheimer.â€�
“I’ve been in this game for 30 years and the ‘Barbie� and ‘Barbenheimer� phenomenon is as unprecedented as it was unpredictable,� said Dergarabedian.
He added the movie’s was the first hint “B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� would be a box office smash.
“The marketing campaign for ‘Barbie� set into motion a chain of events that led to the word ‘Barbenheimer� being added to the popular lexicon by virtue of its shared release date with ‘Oppenheimer,� and that’s when we all knew something very special and unique was going to create a much bigger than expected outcome for the film not only for the opening weekend, but for its global run in theaters,� said Dergarabedian.
In an interview with Collider last month, Margot Robbie, who produced the movie in addition to playing the titular character, shared a premonition she had at a greenlight meeting with studios.
“I think I told them they’d make a billion dollars which, maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make!� she said.
“B²¹°ù²ú¾±±ðâ€� is distributed by Warner Bros., which is owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.
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