Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy “Barbie” has crossed $537.5 million at the domestic box office, overtaking Christopher Nolan’s 2008 superhero epic “The Dark Knight” ($536 million) as the highest-grossing domestic release in Warner Bros. history.
And the box office records aren’t expected to stop anytime soon. In the coming days, “Barbie” will surpass Universal’s animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($574 million) as the biggest domestic release of 2023. At this rate, “Barbie,” which just hit $1.2 billion globally, also has a shot of eclipsing “Mario” ($1.35 billion) as the highest-grossing worldwide release of the year.
It’s been a wild run for “Barbie,” which has remained the No. 1 movie for four consecutive weekends. After 17 days in theaters, it became the fastest Warner Bros. film (and eighth in the studio’s 100-year history) to join the $1 billion club. It could also outpace 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” ($1.34 billion) as the studio’s highest-grossing worldwide release of all time.
Earlier in its theatrical rollout, “Barbie” notched the biggest opening of the year with $162 million, besting “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million). It also landed the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, overtaking Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 2019 blockbuster “Captain Marvel” ($153 million).
Margot Robbie, who leads the film as the stereotypical version of Barbie, is being richly rewarded for her key role in bringing the iconic doll to the big screen. As the star and producer behind the summer’s biggest hit, she stands to make roughly $50 million in salary and box office bonuses, as Variety previously reported. Gerwig, too, is expected to receive handsome bonuses because of the film’s runaway success.
‘Barbie’ Surpasses ‘The Dark Knight’ as Warner Bros. Highest-Grossing Domestic Release in History
