It had to happen, it was practically inevitable: Barbie has already become the highest-grossing movie of 2023 worldwide. Since its release, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's Barbie has done nothing but make headlines about the success it was having, and it has finally gone further than any other movie so far this year. Without going too far back in time, last week the film was already ahead of Super Mario Bros: The Movie domestically, snatching the podium from the Nintendo plumber that had triumphed in the first half of the year with its arrival in theaters.
Barbie also became a hit for Warner Bros., having become the company's highest-grossing film, surpassing such blockbusters as Harry Potter, whose latest installment - Deathly Hallows Part 2 - was at the top until a few hours ago. Now, with more than $1.36 billion grossed worldwide, Barbie becomes the most successful movie of 2023. And it is still playing in theaters, so its numbers will continue to rise in the coming weeks.
The Barbie phenomenon does not come alone, and the fact is that the film, in addition to being very well publicized, also came with strong support from the public that started a battle baptized as Barbenheimer, since on the weekend of Barbie's premiere, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer also arrived in theaters. Together, Barbie and Oppenheimer have been unstoppable, however, Barbie has almost always been ahead of her opponent. This week, however, Christopher Nolan's feature did have a chance to overtake Greta Gerwig's, at least at the U.S. box office, but internationally, Nolan's film lags far behind Greta's.
Barbie still has a few weeks left in theaters, and there is no doubt that the film will achieve more in its final days.