Greta Gerwig Breaks Box Office Record for Female Director with ‘Barbie’ | Wagon Radio 720

‘Barbie’ didn’t just break the 2023 opening weekend record. It also broke the weekend record for the first time for a film directed by a woman.

With $162 million in North American theater ticket sales, “Barbie” surpassed both Anna Boden’s “Captain Marvel,” which premiered in 2019 at $153.4 million, and Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film “Wonder Woman,” which premiered at $103.3 million, according to Monday’s studio tally. Boasting a reported $145 million price tag, “Barbie” was cheaper to make than “Captain Marvel” ($152 million) and “Wonder Woman” ($200 million).

Globally, Captain Marvel’s worldwide release was higher at $455 million, but Wonder Woman’s premiere was $228.3 million at more than $337 million.

It’s also not surprising that Barbie’s debut was 65% female, which in itself isn’t surprising, but box office history has shown that movies with over $100 million at the box office are often dominated by male audiences (including both “Captain Marvel” and “Wonder Woman”). As many have pointed out, this is probably more due to the lack of blockbuster movies being made and promoted with blockbuster female audiences in mind than it is to rules.

Gerwig co-wrote and directed “Barbie,” which was to be the first of many Mattel-inspired spin-offs. And in just one week, it has already surpassed the domestic box office earnings of her last two films, “Little Women” ($108.1 million) and “Lady Bird” ($49 million).

The question now is just how high Barbie can reach and surpass other top female-directed films. To reach the No. 1 spot in North America, “Barbie” would have to earn more than $477.4 million from “Frozen 2,” co-directed by Jennifer Lee. “Captain Marvel” came in second with $426.8 million.